Are We Cursed, Dealing With the Past, Part 3
by kathrynlauryn
Summary: Johnny and Julianna got some happy news. Then they are hit by tragedy. Is this couple's path to happily ever after cursed? Will they survive this tragic accident? Will they lean on each other to get through this and make it to happily ever after?
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to Mark VII and NBC Universal. I own Julianna.

Julianna had a smile on her face and was positively giddy with the reaction Johnny had given her with regard to the pregnancy. She honestly felt they would make it this time. No matter what happened, they were going to stick together.

She stopped at the stop light just past the Station. When the light turned green, she headed toward her home. As she entered the intersection, a car came barreling through and hit the car on the right of Julianna, sending it into her car. She found herself pushed into the other lane of traffic where another car slammed into the stack of cars. Julianna's head hit the steering wheel. The last conscious thought she had was of how much she loved Johnny and didn't want to leave him. Then, she slipped into nothingness.

"_**Station 51, respond to car accident. Intersection of Wilmington and 220th Street. Unknown injuries, unknown number of vehicles. Intersection of Wilmington and 220th Street. Time out, 1334,"**_ dispatch said.

"Station 51, KMG-365," Cap said.

The guys of Station 51 hopped into the Engine and Squad and sped to the intersection, just down the street from the Station.  
As Roy and Johnny pulled to the scene, they were amazed at the scene.

"Wow, this is something," Johnny said.  
Mike stopped the engine just behind the squad and proceeded to help get the lines ready to wash down the gasoline. He went around to his gauges to hook up the hose when he saw something that made him stumble. He dropped the hose connection and walked to the wreckage.

"Stoker! Stoker! Mike, we need that connection," he heard Cap yelling. Mike ignored him. He went straight to the car and confirmed his worst fear. Chet came running back to the Engine and saw Mike wasn't at his post. Something that never happened.

"Mike," Chet called.  
Cap came around the back of the engine and found Chet standing at the dials and Mike off at a wrecked car.

Unable to get Mike's attention, he sent Chet to help Marco wash the gasoline while Cap hooked the hoses and set the dials. He charged the line and then went after his engineer. Something must have rattled Mike to get him to leave his post.

Just as Cap was about to approach him, Mike called out. "Johnny! Roy! Get over here, quick!"

Mike leaned into the car and pulled his hand back when he found blood on his hand.

"Mike, what the hell is wrong," Cap asked.  
Mike didn't move. Cap looked over his shoulder and he took a step back.

"Johnny, get over here," Cap yelled, trying to keep his voice calm, but convey the urgency.

Johnny jogged over to Cap, not paying attention to the cars in the wreckage.

"What's the prob..." Johnny asked as he caught Mike's face. "Are you OK, Mike," Johnny asked.  
"It's...Juli," Mike said, shock in his voice.  
"Huh," Johnny said before finally turning his attention to the car.

"Holy sh..." he started to say before he went totally limp.

Cap caught the younger paramedic. "Johnny, you have to assess her," he reminded Johnny.

Johnny shook his head and reached into take Julianna's pulse. He found one, but it was weak and irregular.

"Roy! I need you over here," Johnny called.  
Roy left his patient on oxygen with the ambulance attendants that had arrived and rushed to the car Johnny was standing next to.

"What have you got, Johnny," Roy asked as he came near the car.  
"It's Juli. She was in the accident," Mike said.  
"She's breathing and she has a pulse, but she's unconscious, Roy," Johnny said.  
Roy pushed his younger partner aside and reached into check on Julianna.

"We've got to get the dash board off of her. Mike get the Jaws and the chains," Roy said.  
Mike stood still for a second, not moving. Roy wasn't sure he even heard Roy's request.

"STOKER," Cap yelled.  
"Yeah," Mike replied.  
"Jaws, chains. We have to get Juli out and that's going to fall to you," Cap said.  
Mike rushed to get the Jaw and chains.

"Chet get the biophone and drug box. Marco get me a backboard and blocks," Roy said.

The men went about their assigned tasks while Mike and Johnny set up the Jaws.  
Seeing his love unconscious and trapped in a car made him focus on getting her out of the vehicle and treating her. He helped Mike link the chains and stood back while Mike went to work. Johnny covered Julianna with the blanket to prevent further injury and waited for Mike to finish his task.

As soon as the steering wheel was far enough back for them to safely pull Julianna out, Johnny had her neck collared and Marco and Chet were there with a backboard.

The gently pulled her out of the vehicle and sat her on the ground.

"I'll call Rampart," Johnny said.  
Johnny took her blood pressure while Cap counted her respiration and took her pulse.

"Rampart, this is Squad 51," Johnny said.  
"This is Rampart, go ahead 51," Dr. Early announced.  
"Rampart we have three injured people at the scene of this accident. First victim, male approximately 60, is suffering from an arm laceration from broken windshield glass and several cuts on the face from the windshield. Patient denies any additional injuries or trauma. B/P is 140/100, pulse is 98 and regular with respiration 12. Patient is walking at the scene. Second patient is another male, approximately 32. Patient is suffering from neck and abdominal pain. B/P is 120/97. Pulse is 84 and respiration is 16. Both patients appear stable at this time, Rampart," Johnny said.  
"10-4, 51, what about your third patient," Early asked.  
"Third patient is a female, 27, suffering from a blow to the head. Her head hit the steering wheel. She's unconscious at the present time. B/P is 60/40, pulse is 140 and respiration is 12. Patient is also about seven weeks pregnant," Johnny said.  
"How do you know that, 51," Early asked.  
"It's Dr. Stoker," Johnny said, breaking all protocol.  
"10-4, start IV Lactated Ringers, oxygen 2 liters by nasal cannula, monitor her vitals and get her in here ASAP," Early said.

"10-4, Rampart," Johnny said.

Roy came over to Johnny and started pulling the supplies. Johnny prepared to start Julianna's IV and Roy didn't argue with him.

Johnny's hands trembled as he got the IV ready for insertion into Julianna's arm. He got the IV established and Roy attached the IV fluids to the cannula. Cap had already put Julianna on Oxygen.

She was then ready to transport. The first two patients were sent with Roy to Rampart while Johnny took the biophone and drug box into the ambulance with Julianna. He did a set of vitals before they left and was alarmed at the slowing pulse rate of Julianna. It reminded him of the trauma he and Roy had in the beginning of their career involving Dixie. He contacted Rampart.  
"Rampart, this is Squad 51," he said.  
"Go ahead, 51," Early replied.  
"Victim three's pulse is dropping. Request permission to administer atropine," he said.  
"10-4, 51. Give .2 milligrams of atropine. What's your ETA," Early asked.  
"One minute," Johnny said.

Early was waiting when Julianna's ambulance stopped at the entrance.  
Johnny hopped out, holding Julianna's IV bag above her head. Dixie took the bag from him and they rushed Julianna's stretcher into the treatment room. Johnny was about to follow, but Roy grabbed his arm.

"I have to be in there," Johnny protested.  
"You know you shouldn't go in there right now," Roy said.  
"I don't care. I have to be there. I have to know if something happens. That woman is everything to me and she's carrying my child. I have to know what's happening," Johnny said.  
Roy knew he was fighting a losing battle and let go. Johnny pushed open the door and he and Roy stood in the corner, waiting to find out the status of Julianna.

"What's the monitor showing," Early asked.  
"Sinus bradycardia," Dixie said.

Brackett pushed open the door and said, "What happened?"  
"She was in that traffic accident near the station. She'd just left from telling me about the baby," Johnny said, from his place in the corner.  
Roy spoke up, "Looks like she was hit twice. She wasn't the cause of the accident. Her car was hit twice and pushed into the path of another one."

"She hit her head on the steering wheel," Johnny said, his voice a monotone. Roy could tell Johnny was trying not to break down. He could also tell he was itching to go to her, but knew he had to stay out of the way.

"Roy, take Johnny to the lounge. I'm going to examine Julianna and it would be a good idea if you weren't around for that. Dixie will get you when I'm finished," Brackett said.

"I'm not leaving," Johnny said, standing his ground.  
"Please, Johnny. Juli would ask you if she was awake. This might be hard for you to see," Brackett said.

Roy practically dragged Johnny out of the room and into the lounge.  
"Coffee," Roy asked.  
Johnny didn't say anything. He just sat on the couch, watching the door for news of Julianna.

Mike entered the lounge. "Any word," he asked, sitting next to Johnny. Johnny shook his head.

"Brackett said he'd get us when he was finished with his exam," Roy said, answering for his friend.

"Cap's going to try to find replacements for Johnny and me," Mike said.

"The rest here," Roy asked and Mike nodded his head.  
Roy decided to leave Mike and Johnny alone and check in with Cap.

He got up from the table and walked out the door.

Cap, Chet and Marco sat in the waiting area and stood when Roy came out of the lounge.

"You can wait in here with us. Brackett's examining Juli and will let us know when Johnny and Mike can go in to see her," Roy said.  
"How is she," Chet asked.  
"She's unconscious. Johnny had to give her atropine in route because her heart rate started to drop. I don't know what is wrong beside the bump on the head," Roy said.  
"The two in the car that were DOA were identified by the witnesses as being the cause of the accident. The ran their red light and hit the car next to Julianna's and turned her into the other path of traffic. She was hit there," Cap said.

"This is just too unbelievable," Marco said.  
"Do you think anything happened to the baby," Cap asked.  
Roy shook his head. He didn't want to think how they would handle it if Julianna had lost the baby. Roy told himself that if she survived, they could always try again to have another child.

Roy ushered his crew mates into the lounge and Mike and Johnny hadn't moved.  
They were all seated and sitting in the quiet when Dixie came in ten minutes later to get Johnny and Mike.  
Roy stood when Johnny and Mike rushed out of the room. He caught the look on Dixie's face and saw it was one of mixed emotion. He knew that Julianna was alive and would survive, but the baby had not. Despite the early gestation of the child, Roy had hoped it had been spared. He hoped Julianna would not have to face a second miscarriage. He sent a prayer to whomever was listening and asked for his friends to be given strength to survive this trial.

"Roy," Cap asked.  
"She's going to make it, but I don't think she'll have the baby," he said, as delicately as possible.  
Cap nodded. "Let's go to the cafeteria. Give Johnny and Mike some time alone with Julianna," Cap said.  
The four guys walked out of the lounge and headed to the cafeteria.

The HT sounded and asked Cap to call Headquarters.

Cap made the call from the nurses station and was told that Dwyer was coming in to finish Johnny's shift and an engineer from one of the volunteer companies would fill in for the rest of Mike's shift. They would stand the station down until 7 that evening. Cap was grateful and would remember to thank Dwyer for agreeing to work a 36 hour shift, since B-shift was on tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: All characters and locations belong to Mark VII and NBC Universal. I only own Julianna.

Mike and Johnny went into the exam room that held Julianna.

Johnny went to the left side of the bed and Mike stood to the right.

Brackett and Early were at the foot of the bed. Johnny took a deep breath and asked, "What's wrong?"

"She's got a concussion," Early said.  
"Is that why she's still unconscious," Mike asked.

Brackett shook his head. "No, she's got some internal bleeding and needs to go to the OR. We're not sure what we're going to find," he said.  
"Are you taking her now," Johnny asked.  
"As soon as the consent is signed. Mike, you're her relative, you have to give consent," Brackett said.  
Mike turned to Johnny. "Do you give permission," Mike asked.  
"You need to give the permission, Mike," Johnny said.  
"And I will, I just want to make sure that you agree. You love her, too," Mike said.  
Johnny nodded his head.

"Where do I sign," Mike asked, never letting go of his sister's hand.  
"Dixie will bring the form. We'll get her prepped for surgery," Brackett said.  
"Mike, do you know your blood type," Early asked.  
"Why," he asked.  
"In case she needs blood and we want to give it," Johnny said.  
"We know Julianna and Johnny are compatible," Early said.

"I don't know," Mike said.  
"Well, we can test you and see, just to be on the safe side. You've got ten minutes before we take her to surgery. I'll get Dixie to draw a sample from you Mike and Johnny you can give your blood when they are prepping Julianna," Early said.  
He left the room, leaving the two men in Julianna's life alone with her. Dixie came in right away to monitor Julianna, but stayed out of the way of the two men.

Mike looked at his sister. The normally stoic engineer was fighting to maintain his composure. The thought of something happening to his sister was almost too much for him to take. He squeezed her hand. "I love you, Juju. I'll be waiting out here with Johnny. Then we can plan the birthday party for him. I love you, sis," Mike said.

Johnny leaned down and whispered in Julianna's ear.

"Jules, I love you. I'll see you when you get out of here and we'll talk about the kind of house we want. I'll be right here waiting, OK. I love you."

Just as Johnny placed a kiss on her forehead, the orderlies came in to take her to surgery.

Johnny let go of her hand as she headed out the door. He watched her stretcher enter the swinging doors, hoping he'd get the chance to hold that hand again.

Johnny and Mike stood in the hallway, watching the doors swing back and forth.

"I'd better go and call mom and dad. They will probably want to grab a flight and come out," Mike said.  
"You can probably use the phone in Brackett's office," Johnny said. "Hey, Dix, Mike's going to use the phone in Brackett's office to call their parents."  
"OK, Johnny," Dixie said. Johnny knew she wanted to say more to him, but she wasn't sure exactly what to say.  
Johnny led the way to Brackett's office and Mike sat down and used the phone to call his parents.  
Johnny waited and listened to Mike's side of the call.  
"Hey mom...Yeah, I'm good... Listen, something happened to Juli... She was in an accident and they just took her to surgery... The doctors think she'll be OK, but she needs the surgery... I'm waiting at the hospital... No, I'm not waiting alone. John's here with me... He's my co-worker and I think him and Juli are dating... OK. I'll probably wait here for several hours until I know Juli's OK. ...I'll see you when you get here... I'll tell her... Love you, too. Bye," Mike said.

"They coming," Johnny asked.  
"Yeah, they're going to try to catch a flight as soon as they can. They said they'd take a cab from the airport," Mike said.

"When did they move," Johnny asked, trying to make small talk to keep from wondering about Julianna.

"Julianna's first year of medical school. Dad reached his retirement and with mom's parents still alive at the time and living in Florida, they decided it would be good if they went and spent time with her," Mike said.

"They always seemed really nice when I was dating Juli. I think they actually liked me," Johnny said.  
"From hearing mom talk, dad thought you a good guy. Of course, I didn't like you," Mike said.  
"You didn't even know me," Johnny said.

"Didn't matter. You were the guy that had taken away the awe my sister felt for me," Mike said.  
"And now," Johnny asked.  
"You've been a co-worker for years and a friend. Now you're dating my sister," Mike said.

Mike smiled a small smile that quickly faded. The silence overtook the room, neither man wanting to express their fears over what might happen to Julianna.

Dixie opened the door to Brackett's office and found Johnny and Mike sitting there, staring at the wall.  
"Brackett's looking for you both. Julianna's out of surgery," Dixie said.

Johnny and Mike got up and followed her out of the room.

Dr. Brackett stood at the nurses station, his face dotted with sweat.  
"Juli's out of surgery. She had a lac to her liver and a tear in her spleen. We took the spleen, just to be cautious. The liver laceration was easily repairable. Ortho is setting the fractured forearm," Brackett said.  
"Fractured forearm? I didn't notice that," Johnny said, mentally kicking himself for not seeing that injury.  
"It's fine Johnny. We almost missed it. OR noticed swelling in the arm that didn't have the IV. They decided to xray and found the splintered fracture. Ortho has decided to splint it in the OR for best results, " Brackett said.  
Johnny looked at Mike, his mouth dry. He wanted to ask about the baby, but was scared. He swallowed and said, "The baby?"

Brackett shook his head. "I'm sorry, Johnny. She was already bleeding when she came here. The trauma to her abdomen most likely caused her to have a traumatic miscarriage. I'm truly sorry," Brackett said.

Johnny couldn't maintain the strong facade he'd held since Julianna had been injured. Tears started streaming down his face. When Mike tried to grab his shoulder, Johnny turned away and walked down the hallway toward the ambulance bay and the outside.

Mike watched him walk away and knew he had to let Johnny be alone. He had to deal with those emotions in his own time.  
"When can we see her," Mike asked.  
Brackett was still staring at the space Johnny had been standing before he left. "In about 20 minutes. She'll be leaving recovery and then to her own room. We'll monitor for blood loss over the next 24-48 hours," Brackett said.  
"Thanks," Mike said.

"I'm sorry, Mike," Brackett said.  
"She's alive and I'm concentrating on that right now. Johnny and I will be in to see her in 20 minutes," Mike said.

Brackett headed back to the nurses station to write the orders for Julianna's admission to the hospital.

Mike headed to the cafeteria to find Roy. If anyone could comfort Johnny right now, Roy would be the person.

He found the crew sitting around a table. They looked up when he came into the cafeteria.

"Mike, is Juli out of surgery," Roy asked.  
"Yeah. Can you go find Johnny? He took off to the ambulance entrance when Brackett said she'd lost the baby. Thought you could help him," Mike said.  
"Sure. You OK," Roy asked.  
"Juju's alive. I don't know how I would handle it if something happened to her," he said.

He sat down next to Cap and Marco. Chet brought him a cup of coffee.

Mike stared at the steaming liquid for several minutes before Cap spoke.  
"How is she, really," he asked.  
"She had her spleen removed and a liver laceration. Dr. Brackett said the trauma to her abdomen caused a traumatic miscarriage. He didn't say there was any other abdominal trauma. She also broke her forearm in the accident. They didn't find it until she went to the OR. She'll be out in 20 minutes and Johnny and I can see her," Mike said.

No one else said anything, they just looked at a random spot in the cafeteria and drank their coffee.

Roy headed out to the ambulance entrance of Rampart. He wasn't surprised to find his partner sitting in the passenger side of the squad, turning a piece of paper over in his hand.  
"Hey, Johnny," Roy said.  
Johnny didn't look up. Roy stood next to his partner. "I'm sorry," he said.

Johnny looked up and sniffled. The tears were still wet on his face and Roy's heart broke.

"What's wrong with us, Roy. Why can't we have the happiness that everyone else has? What do we have to do? Are we cursed," Johnny asked Roy.  
Roy didn't have an answer for him. "I don't know Johnny. This was an accident. A terrible accident. I know it sounds empty, but you guys will get passed this. You will go on to have another child. You love her and she loves you. Together, you'll get passed this and have a happy future," Roy said.  
"Poor, Juli. This is going to crush her. God, Roy, the pain is unbelievable. I can't imagine how badly she's going to be. I don't know if I'll be able to survive it," Johnny said, wiping his face with his hand.  
"You'll survive. You need to. For Juli. She needs to know you don't blame her for this, just like you didn't blame her the first time. I know this sounds like the whole universe is against you, but you have to believe it will be better," Roy said.  
"What if she doesn't want to be with me after all of this," Johnny asked.  
"You have to give her time. She loves you, and I know you love her. Just be patient with her. I know it hurts, but we're all here for you. I'm here if you need to talk about anything," Roy said.  
"I need to go see her," Johnny said.

"OK, just remember, let her know that you love her, no matter what," Roy said.  
Johnny nodded and went back into the hospital. Roy followed behind, hating what this was doing to his partner.


	3. Chapter 3

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing, but Julianna. All others belong to Mark VII and NBC Universal.

Johnny joined Mike in Julianna's room. She was still out of it from the anesthesia and Brackett said she might be that way for another few hours.

Johnny and Mike settled in chairs beside her bed and waited for her to open her eyes.

Just as the sun peeked through the windows of the hospital, Julianna opened her eyes.  
"Mike," she croaked.  
"I'm here, Juju," he said, his eyes tearing up.

She closed her eyes, but opened them quickly. "Johnny," she said.  
"I'm here, babe. Just settle down," Johnny said.

Julianna looked at him and he saw tears running down her cheeks.  
"Are you in pain," he asked. Mike prepared to get the nurse but Julianna shook her head.  
"I feel empty. I lost the baby, again, didn't I," she asked, crying.

"It's OK, honey. I'm sorry. We'll try again later. Let's just concentrate on you getting out of here. We have a house to buy," Johnny said, kissing the top of her hand.

Julianna squeezed his hand and closed her eyes. She felt empty and like a failure. She had never felt so depressed about anything in her life.

Johnny knew Julianna was upset. He knew she felt like a failure, like she'd let him down.

"Jules, it's OK. I'm just so glad you're OK," Johnny said, tears building in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Johnny. I should have been more careful. I should have protected our baby," she said, sobbing.  
"Jules, it wasn't your fault. It was a tragic accident and you couldn't control what happened. No one could. I'm grateful you're alive and are going to be out of this hospital in a few days. Then we're going to talk about our future together," Johnny said.  
Julianna didn't respond. She just closed her eyes and fell back asleep as the pain medicine took effect. Dr. Brackett had also ordered a sedative so she could sleep.

Johnny watched her relax as the medicine took effect. He sat down in the chair and watched her face, her features still pained. He knew it was from the loss of the baby, not the pain from surgery.

"Want to step outside," Mike asked.  
Johnny and Mike slipped out of the room, Dixie coming inside to check her vitals.

Once out in the hall, Johnny's composure broke. He went to the window and looked out at the sunrise. Mike stood next to his friend, feeling the same sense of sadness.

"I'm sorry," Mike said.  
"Juli's so upset. Did you see her face? I can't believe she has to go through that again," Johnny said.

"I did. I'm sorry you're both going through this again," Mike said.  
"I can't imagine having gone through this twice. This time is devastating for me, but she's gone through this twice. What if she doesn't want to be with me? What if she thinks we're cursed," Johnny said.  
"She won't think that. She loves you," Mike said.

"Yeah, but that didn't change things the last time, Mike," Johnny said.  
Mike was at a loss for words. He didn't know what to say to his friend to make it better. He didn't know what he was going to say with his sister. He hated that she was going through what she was going through, but he thought it might be better because she could lean on Johnny. Although Mike had to admit, his sister might decide she had failed Johnny a second time and leave because she couldn't bear to bring him unhappiness.

"You have to be there for her, Johnny. If you love her, you need to let her know that," Mike said.  
"I'm going to be there for her, but she might not let me and that scares me," Johnny said.

The guys from Station 51 returned to the hospital after their shift was finished. They offered to bring Johnny and Mike something to eat and, although they had no appetite, agreed.

Julianna and Mike's parents had arrived a few hours after Julianna awoke the first time.

Mike had met them in the lobby of the emergency room and brought them up to Julianna's room.  
Johnny was sitting by her bed, holding her hand and talking to her in a quiet voice.

Mike opened the door to her room. "Johnny, I think you know my parents," Mike said.  
"Johnny Gage? You're the John that Mike mentioned Juli was dating? Oh, my goodness," Helen Stoker said.

She went right to her daughter's side and took her other hand.

Julianna's dad shook hands with Johnny before joining his wife next to their daughter.

"How is she," Helen asked Mike.  
"She's good, now. She had her spleen removed and she'll be off her feet for a while, but Johnny and I can take care of her. She'll be glad to know you're here," Mike said.  
The Stoker's looked at their son and Johnny. "What aren't you telling us, Michael," his father asked.  
Mike took a deep breath and looked at Johnny. Johnny looked back and Julianna and said, "Julianna was pregnant at the time of the accident. She lost the baby. Our baby," Johnny said.  
Mike saw the tears fall down his mother's cheeks and saw his father's eyes darken. Mike was worried his parents would get mad at Johnny and start a scene, but he was surprised.  
"Poor, Juli. I know the pain of losing a child and I hate that Juli's going to experience that. Do you love her," Helen asked Johnny.

"Of course. I can't be without her," Johnny said.

"Juli's an adult and she can make her own decisions. The only thing we're concerned about is her and her health. So, when can she come home," her father asked.  
Mike looked at his parents. "What do you mean, you've lost a child," he asked.  
Helen Stoker took a deep breath. "The five years between you and your sister wasn't planned, dear. I got pregnant twice after I had you and before your sister was born. You were a year the first time and three the second. When I got pregnant with Julianna, I was scared to death that I was going to lose that baby, too. I was so careful the whole time, until I was sure I was going to make it. I know how your sister is going to feel. Thank goodness your father was so helpful and understanding. I was so scared he'd blame me for losing the baby that I nearly lost him. Thank God, I had you at home. When your sister was born, I was so relieved and excited. Her delivery was also traumatic and she would be the last child I would have. I was relieved in a way because I didn't know if I'd be able to go through that pain again. We need to be there for Juli," Helen said.  
Ben Stoker wrapped his arm around his wife and looked at Mike and Johnny. "When will she be able to go home," he asked.  
"Brackett hasn't said," Johnny said.  
Julianna started stirring in her bed and opened her eyes.  
"Mom, Dad," she asked.  
"We're here, sweetie. Just rest. Johnny and Mike are here, too," Helen said.  
"Johnny," she said.  
"I'm here, honey. Do you need something," he asked.  
"Side hurts," she said.  
Johnny kissed her forehead. "I'll get the nurse for you, OK. I'll let you talk to your parents. Love you," he said.  
"Love you," she answered, grimacing as she tried to move in the bed.

Johnny got out of his seat and headed out of the room. As the door closed to her room, Johnny leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. He saw Dr. Brackett coming around the corner. "Johnny, how's Julianna?"

"She's in pain. I was just coming to get the nurse and see if she could have some pain medicine," he said.

"I'll get them. How are you," he asked as they walked to the nurses station.  
"I'm...well, I don't know. I don't know how I am. I'm grateful, lost, afraid and...well, angry. There's so many emotions running around inside me, that I don't know how I feel. I can't imagine how Jules feels. I don't know what to do except love her and I'm scared I won't be able to do that," he said.

Brackett slowly nodded his head. "I don't have an answer for you in this situation, Johnny. The only thing I can tell you is to make sure she knows you're there for her. That you love her. I hate you're both being put through this, but Juli's young and healthy. You can both still have a family, if that's what you want," Brackett said.

"Honestly, Doc, if she tells me she doesn't want a family after this, I'll understand and support her. I just want her and I want her to be happy. I'm just afraid that her being happy, won't include me," Johnny said, heading to the cafeteria to get some coffee.

Dr. Brackett watched the young paramedic walk away, his heart hurting for his young friend. He knew Johnny could handle any situation that was presented to him in the field no matter the pressure of the situation. It was this, an affair of the heart, that had the young paramedic stumbling. Brackett hoped Julianna and Johnny could figure things out. They'd already been through too much to lose each other.

Brackett headed to Julianna's room to check on his patient. He was hoping she'd be awake and he could discuss when to discharge her and if she needed to speak with a counselor about what had happened to her.

He opened the door to the room and found Mike standing with two people, he assumed were their parents.  
"Mike," Dr. Brackett said.  
"Dr. Brackett. These are our parents, Helen and Ben Stoker. This is Juli's doctor and her supervisor, Dr. Kel Brackett," Mike said.  
Brackett shook hands with the Stoker's. "I'm going to examine her and give new orders for the day. If you three want to step out and get coffee or something, I'll get you when I'm finished," he said.  
"We'll do that," Ben Stoker said, taking his wife's hand and following Mike out the door.

They walked down the hallway, Mike leading the way.

"Did you know Juli dated Johnny in high school," Helen asked.

"I didn't find out until she came back. Johnny and I have been working together for a few years now. I never asked about his dating life or Juli's. It was none of my business. When I found out they knew each other in high school, I remembered what you told me about them. Johnny's been great to Juli," Mike said.

"Johnny was a wonderful boy in high school. He was so sweet to your sister. I was very pleased with the way he treated her and how he treated your mother and me. Very polite and never did anything to cause us to worry about them being together. I'm glad to see he actually became a firefighter. I was hoping he'd follow through with that," Ben said.  
"He was one of the first to go through the paramedic training," Mike said.  
"I knew he was a bright boy. So, do you think Juli will get angry when we stay at the house and take care of her while you go back to work," Ben asked.  
"Probably. She isn't the best patient in the world," Mike said.

They sat down with coffee. Helen smiled. "I remember when Juli broke her ankle. We were away for the weekend and they had gone hiking. She fell and broke her ankle and Johnny felt so guilty. Like he could have kept her from breaking it. Anyway, he called us and told us, but said he could handle taking care of her, if we were OK with it. He offered to take her to the reservation, just in case we thought they shouldn't be alone in the same house overnight. We wanted to rush home, but he insisted we finish our vacation and Juli did, too. When we came back, Johnny mentioned she was a horrible patient, but he gladly put up with her sour attitude because he cared about her. I knew he loved her because I had a hard time taking care of her sometimes. She doesn't like to be sick," Helen said.  
The Stoker's drank coffee at the table and made some small talk, catching up on what was happening since their last conversation.


	4. Chapter 4

DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to Mark VII and NBC Universal. I own the character of Julianna.

Johnny walked back to Julianna's room. Dr. Brackett was exiting the room and Johnny asked how she was doing.  
"She's doing as well as I would expect for someone who just had surgery 12 hours ago and has a slight concussion. She'll probably stay here for another few days before I let her go home. You can go in and see her. I'm going to order her pain medicine. Go on in. I'm sure she'll want to see you," Brackett said.

He headed to the nurses station to make his changes and Johnny went to Julianna's door. He hesitated before opening it.

Taking a deep breath, he pushed open the door and slipped into her room. Julianna's head was turned to the right, facing away from the door.

He walked to the right of the bed, so he could see her and sat in the chair. Her eyes were closed and she appeared to be asleep, but the puffy appearance of her eyes and face showed she'd been crying. Johnny's heart broke again. He reached for her hand and, as he clasped her hand, Julianna jerked and opened her eyes.

"Hey, it's just me," he said in a soft voice, hoping to calm her.

"Johnny," she said, swallowing.  
"I just saw Dr. Brackett. He said you'd be able to go home in a few days. Your parents will be glad to hear that. I think they went to get something to eat with Mike," Johnny said.  
"Mom and dad are here? Do they know," Julianna asked.  
"Yeah and they are sorry for us. Your dad's glad I'm here with you," Johnny said.

"Do you still want to be with me," Julianna asked him.  
Johnny was taken aback. He'd expected her to feel that way, but hearing her ask it out loud was a shock to him.

"Of course. I love you, Jules. I just wish I'd been able to keep that accident from happening," Johnny said.

"But maybe I'm not supposed to be with you. I've been pregnant twice and I don't have a baby to show for it. How can you be with someone who can't do something like that," she asked, her voice shaking, tears filling her eyes.  
"Jules, this was an accident. The other time wasn't meant to be because we weren't together. I know you're the woman for me. I know that and nothing is your fault. I want to be with you. Do you not want to be with me? Maybe I'm the problem," he said.

"You're wonderful, Johnny. I want to be with you so badly. That's all I want, but what if you blame me because we don't have children," she asked.  
"You don't know that we can't, Jules. Look, we'll get through anything, as long as we're together. Can you please believe that," Johnny asked.  
Julianna nodded, not really believing that everything would work out. She wanted to be with Johnny. She loved him, but she wondered if she'd keep him from having the stable family he had craved as a child. He'd been so passionate when discussing having a family of his own that was different than the one he'd grown up with, that she found herself craving it, also. She knew he wanted his children to grow up with a mother and father that loved each other, just like she'd had. Julianna had wanted the same thing and now that she and Johnny were back together, thought they would get the chance. Now, with this second miscarriage, Julianna wasn't sure any of those high school fantasies would come true.

"I love you," she said, as she closed her eyes.  
Johnny kissed her cheek and said, "I love you, too." He held her as gently as he could because of the surgical incisions and found himself falling asleep beside her.  
Mike led his parents back up to Julianna's room and wasn't surprised to find Johnny in Julianna's bed.

"Johnny," Mike whispered.  
"Yeah. Sorry. She was feeling really down," Johnny said, carefully untangling himself from her and standing up to greet her parents.  
"Mr. and Mrs. Stoker, it's a pleasure to see you again. I wish it wasn't like this, though. Sorry I wasn't talkative before. Juli's injuries hit me pretty hard," he said.  
"We understand, Johnny. We're just glad you and Julianna are together. Are you going to stay with her," Ben asked.  
"I can leave if you want to stay with her," he said.  
Helen shook her head. "You can stay with her. If you want to get a shower and change, we'll hang out with her before heading to Mike's house to sleep. We're a bit old to sleep in these hospital chairs," she said.

"If you are OK with me staying the night, then I'll go and change and let Roy know what's happening," Johnny said.  
"We don't have a problem. Your both adults. We understand. Take your time. We're going to catch up with her," she said.  
"I'll be back in a few. Let Juli know, Mike," Johnny asked.  
"Yeah. Let them know that I'll be there for my next shift. With mom and dad here, I figured I wouldn't be needed. You going to take off," Mike asked.  
"Maybe. It depends on what Jules wants. I'll see you all in a few hours," Johnny said.  
He waved at the Stoker's and headed out the door and walked back to the ER. He called Roy and asked for a ride home.

Roy arrived 20 minutes later and Johnny had grabbed a sandwich in the cafeteria. He hopped into Roy's truck and Roy drove toward his apartment.

"How is she," Roy asked.  
"Hurting. She's afraid I'm going to leave her because she's lost two babies," he said.  
"Happens to lots of women. Joanne had a miscarriage a year ago," Roy said.

He'd never shared that tidbit of information with Johnny and his friend looked at him with shock.

"You never told me," Johnny said.

"It was a difficult time. It was right around the time I took that engineer's test. Joanne had just found out that she was pregnant again and I figured getting the promotion was a sign or something. During that week we were discussing the pros and cons, she miscarried. I took that week off after that to be with her. Her mom came and took Jenn and Chris for the week. We were devastated, but realized we had each other and we would get through it. You and Juli will get through it, too. I know that. You've both got too much history and you love each other too much to let it all go. I'm not saying it will be easy, but you will make it. Joanne thought I'd blame her for the loss of the baby and I was afraid she'd think I hadn't done enough for her. I know it wasn't her fault, but she thought she should have done something more. That was the hardest part. Making sure she knew I didn't blame her, I still loved her and, if she did or didn't want another child, I'd still support her and love her. You have to be prepared for some crazy emotions, Johnny. But assure her you love her, no matter what," Roy said.

Johnny looked at Roy. "I'm going to try. I'm just afraid she's not going to believe me."

Roy pulled into the parking lot of Johnny's apartment building and Johnny got out of the car. Chet had brought Johnny's Rover back to his apartment after their shift, so Johnny told Roy he'd drive himself back to the hospital. Roy pulled away after Johnny shut the door to his apartment.

When Roy arrived home, Joanne was in the kitchen, drinking a cup of coffee.  
"Where are the kids," he asked as he entered the room and kissed his wife.  
"My sister called and wanted to know if she could take the kids overnight and take them to the circus tomorrow. I figured you'd want to talk, so I said sure. They left a few minutes ago and they'll call tonight," Joanne said.

"Juli's going to be OK, but I'm worried about Johnny. Well, her and Johnny," Roy said, sitting down.

"Why," Joanne asked.  
"Juli miscarried. It's the second time she's been pregnant and the second miscarriage. And she was carrying Johnny's baby both times. He's worried that, although he knows there wasn't anything they could have done, she might think they aren't meant to be together. I told him what we went through and how he has to be there for her, but be prepared for the unexpected emotions and things she's going to say. I'm just worried those two are going to grow apart because of this. If he and Juli break up over this, Johnny's never going to let anyone in again. The way he dealt with Juli's leaving him the first time was to date pretty faces or women without much substance. I'm worried how he'll handle it if it happens again," Roy said.

Joanne looked at her husband. "You and I know that they can survive this because we did. But they aren't us, Roy. They aren't married. They may have known each other for years, but they've only been reacquainted for a year. They've been dating for, what, two, three months? This pregnancy, while I know they were happy, was a big surprise for them. They were just getting used to being together again. They hadn't really gotten used to each other as adults. I know what Juli's going to be thinking. We need to be prepared to be there for Johnny because he's going to need us," Joanne said.  
"What is Juli thinking? What is she going to do," Roy asked.  
"What she did when she saw what she thought was Johnny cheating on her in high school. She's going to run," Joanne said.  
"She wouldn't leave...would she," Roy asked.  
"Honey, I thought the best thing for me during that time was to leave. But I had the kids here and I thought about how much I loved you and I couldn't do that. I realized you were hurting as much as I was, so I couldn't let my grief and my urge to flee take control. Juli's afraid Johnny will blame her for the miscarriages and she's going to run just so she doesn't have to hear him tell her," Joanne said.  
"That's ridiculous. Johnny doesn't blame her for anything. He loves her. He wants to build a life with her," Roy said.  
"Honey, a woman who's suffered a miscarriage doesn't always think rationally. She's just suffered a loss and she's caught in this limbo between being pregnant and not being pregnant. Hormones are raging. I know, I've been there. It's like the end of a pregnancy when you have the baby and your hormones and stuff are going back to normal. The difference is, you don't have the baby to take your mind off things. You're just reminded of what you don't have. Thank God I had you and the kids. I could concentrate on that," Joanne said.  
"How can I help him," Roy said.  
"Just be there. You know how he feels about the loss of his child. Share your feelings. Tell him it's OK to be angry. Just don't be angry at Juli," Joanne said.  
Roy leaned over and kissed his wife. "How did you get so wise," he asked.  
Joanne smiled. "I married a very smart man," she said.  
"Since we're kid-free tonight, how about we go out to dinner," he said.  
"Sounds good. Can we go by and see Juli later? I want to check on my friend," Joanne said.  
"Of course," Roy said.

They got up from the table and went upstairs to get ready. Roy joined his wife in the shower, grateful to God that he'd found such a wonderful woman to share his life.


	5. Chapter 5

DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to Mark VII and NBC Universal. I own Julianna.

_**A/N: I know I just updated this morning, but I've been on bed rest and my only companion, besides the DVR, has been my computer and I've gotten a lot of ideas for this story and found myself writing for much of the day. If it doesn't make sense, I'm blaming it on the pain medication I am currently taking. Happy reading! :-)**_

The next three days, Julianna went through the motions. She said all the right things to those that asked how she was feeling. She said she knew it wasn't her fault that she lost the baby. It had been an accident. There was nothing she could have done and she would grieve, but she would eventually accept what happened. There was no reason to believe she could have children. Her future was bright. Julianna agreed with them on the surface, but inside, she still felt lost and like a failure. She just wanted to stop talking about it and having everyone look at her like she was going to break.

When she was ready to go home, Johnny had offered to bring her home from the hospital. Julianna had mixed feelings about it because while Johnny had spent nearly every moment with her, she hadn't spoken with him since right after the accident. Neither of them had brought it up and if anyone did, Julianna had pretended to be tired. No one wanted to push her and everyone figured Julianna would talk about it in her own time. The only ones that weren't fooled were Johnny and Mike. Joanne had suspected Julianna was trying to avoid the subject, but she hadn't said anything because she didn't want to upset her friend more than she was already.

Mike had offered to bring Julianna home, but Johnny had asked because he needed to talk to Julianna. Mike had relented because he knew the couple had to talk about what had happened, whether his sister wanted to or not.

Dixie helped Julianna into her clothes. "Johnny's going to meet us outside. He didn't want you to have to walk too far," she said to Julianna.  
Julianna sat in the wheelchair. "He's very sweet."  
"That man loves you very much. I wish I had a gentleman so devoted to me and one that looked at me that way," Dixie said.  
"Yeah. Sometimes I wonder if I'm worthy of all that love and devotion," Julianna said as Dixie pushed the chair down the hall.  
"What are you talking about," Dixie asked.  
"I'm not good enough for him. I mean, I abandoned him in high school, I lost our first child. I come back here, renew our past acquaintanceship only to start fighting with him. Then when we stop fighting and get back together we have a great few weeks and then I get pregnant again. And then I lose our second child. What man wants to stay with a woman who can make him so happy by telling him he's going to be a father and then let it get ripped away from him. I love Johnny so much it hurts, but I'm really wondering if I need to let him go so he can find a woman that can give him everything he deserves and not bring him pain, like me," Julianna said, staring at her hands.  
Dixie stopped the wheelchair and knelt in front of her. "You listen to me, Julianna Stoker. That man loves you. I've always thought Johnny was the greatest guy and the sweetest. I always wondered why he never seemed to be happy, no matter how into him a girl seemed or he seemed with them. Then I met you and I saw why. You held everything that he'd been looking for in all those women he'd tried to date. He looked for beauty, brains, wit, personality, courage. He sought for each of those features, but never found them in one woman. Sure he'd date a pretty one, but she wouldn't have a personality. She'd be pretty but no courage. She'd have brains, but no personality. He tried to find all those features, but he couldn't because you were the only one that had them in the combination he needed. He was hoping he'd find you, but never believed he would. Now that he has you back, Johnny's going to do what ever he can to make you happy. You have to know how he feels," Dixie said.

"I've caused him such pain, Dixie," Julianna started to say.  
"That's what love is about. You're going to have some pain. Maybe not to the extent you two have dealt with, but love isn't supposed to be painless. Anything worth having is worth fighting for and fighting isn't without pain. Johnny doesn't blame you for what happened. If anything, he blames the driver that ran the red light and hit your car. All that boy wants to do is love you the way you deserve. He wants you to be the family he's been searching for since he was a kid," Dixie said.  
Julianna sat quietly in the wheelchair. She didn't know how to react. She wanted nothing more than to believe that Johnny didn't blame her for the miscarriage and that he wanted to have a life with her. But there was a small voice in the back of her head that said because he was a nice guy, he wouldn't leave her for what happened, but he might make her realize she needed to leave. Julianna couldn't bear the thought of Johnny telling her that he blamed her for what happened. While she wanted nothing more than to be with him and get married, she was afraid that, if they did, what would he say if she said she couldn't bear the thought of having a child? That the fear of having another miscarriage was paralyzing? What if she decided she wanted to try to have another child, but she couldn't get pregnant? Or she got pregnant, but the result was still the same? How would Johnny react to that? Julianna didn't know what to think or what to do.

"Hey, Jules! You ready to go home," Johnny asked as he helped her from the wheelchair.

Seeing the smile on his face, a true smile that wasn't forced, settled Julianna's mind a bit.

"Yeah. Are you staying with me," she asked. Johnny looked shocked. "If you can't or don't want to that's fine, I just thought..." she added quickly.  
"No, Jules, I want to. I just thought you'd want to be alone with your brother and parents. I'll stay if you want me to. I didn't want to intrude," Johnny said, squeezing her hand.  
"I want you to stay," she said.  
"Then I'll stay," he said.  
Julianna relaxed a bit. Johnny held onto her hand as they drove back to her house and she felt at peace for the first time since the accident.

Mike was getting the mail when Johnny pulled into the driveway. He went and opened the front door while Johnny went to help Julianna out of the car.

He wrapped an arm securely around her waist, but not too tight to hurt her and put one of her arms around his shoulders. "Lean on me if you need to," he said as he helped her up the walk.

"Mom set up the fold out in the den. You know where to go," Mike said.  
Johnny helped Julianna into the den and gently eased her onto the fold-out couch.

"I'll get your bag. Do you need anything," he asked.  
Julianna shook her head. Johnny kissed the top of her head and went out to retrieve her bag from his Rover.

Helen Stoker came into the den after Johnny ran back outside and sat down on the chair next to her daughter's bed.

"How are you, dear," she asked.  
"I'm sore and tired, mom," Julianna said.  
"That's to be expected, but I want to know how you're feeling. About Johnny, the baby, all of it. You haven't mentioned anything to anyone and it has me worried," she said.

"I feel lost, mom. I feel like a failure, like I've let Johnny down," she blurted out. The last thing she expected to do was discuss something this personal with her mother, but her mother was that way.

"Well, dear, I'm sure Mike told you I admitted to the two miscarriages that I had before you came into our lives. I really thought your father would leave me because I couldn't give him the big family he wanted. He had a son, but I knew he wanted at least one daughter and would love to have a house full of children. When I miscarried the first one, we moved past it and concentrated on your brother. The second one left me devastated. I seriously considered leaving your father to save him the pain of dealing with a wife that couldn't do what a wife was expected to do. I told him I'd grant him a divorce so he could marry a woman that could provide him the family he wanted. Your father laughed. He said he loved me and our family was just right as long as we were together. When you came along, we felt like we'd been given a miracle. We had you and Mike and we felt like the luckiest people on the planet. When everyone asked why we only had two, your father said we had the perfect family; a boy and a girl. No one knew, but us, about the miscarriages. No one knew I nearly died having you and needed a hysterectomy after you were born. Juli, the path the women in this family take to get to motherhood is not easy. Your grandmother, my mother, had two children after enduring the loss of four children. Your great-grandmother, my grandmother, died giving birth to her third child. I was told, later, that she'd delivered two other children that were stillborn. She probably suffered miscarriages, but they didn't keep track of those things. Your grandmother Stoker had the same issues. That's why your father is an only child. I grieve for those children I lost, Julianna Grace, but I have you and Michael Thomas. I couldn't have gotten a better son or daughter. I know it hurts and you probably think you could never go through that again. Your family is here to support you. Your brother would do anything in the world for you and Johnny...," Helen stopped and smiled. She patted her daughter's knee and said, "Well, he's been in love with you since high school and you've been in love with him. Don't shut him out. Take some time to mourn the loss, but don't lose your relationship with Johnny because of it," her mother said.  
Julianna, who started crying during her mother's speech, looked up at her mother. "How can I have a future with him if I can't be sure I can provide a future for him," she sobbed.  
Helen wrapped her daughter in her arms and looked at the doorway. Johnny stood there, tears brimming. Helen pushed her daughter away and looked into her eyes. She wiped the tears from her cheeks and said, "Julianna Grace Stoker, do you love John?"

"Yes," Julianna said in a near whisper.  
"Can you see him blaming you for something that was out of your control?"

Julianna shook her head.  
"Does he love you?"

"Yes, I think he does," she said.

Johnny, who'd been listening at the door, came in and sat down with her on the bed. "I do love you."

Julianna looked from her mother to Johnny. "Despite what happened?"  
"Always, Jules," Johnny said, taking her in his arms. At first, she tensed but when Johnny felt her relax into his arms, he felt a peace.

Julianna fell asleep a few hours later and Johnny went to the kitchen to get some milk. Mike was sitting at the table.

"Hey, Johnny. Juli asleep," he asked.  
"Yeah. I think we're going to be OK," Johnny said, sitting down with his glass of milk.

"I have faith you'll be OK. Mom and dad went to bed. They're tired from the time change," Mike said.  
"Do you want me to head home or stay with Juli," Johnny asked.  
"Stay. Juli wants you here. Just tell me one thing, are you going to marry my sister," Mike asked.

"I want to. I want to marry her so badly, but I don't know when the right time to ask her is, especially now," Johnny said.

"When she's back to work. She's not going to be expecting that. I do know it would make her happy. Make my parents happy, too," Mike said.  
"You think so," Johnny asked.  
"Yeah. I do."

Mike and Johnny finished their drinks and Johnny went back to the den and got into the bed with Julianna. She reacted to the bed movement and rolled over toward him. Johnny wrapped his arms around her, like his arms were made for her and only her. He closed his eyes and went to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to Mark VII and NBC Universal. I own Julianna.

Johnny stayed with Julianna for three more days before Julianna told him to return to work. Julianna's parents were staying with her and Mike and Julianna was craving for things to get back to normal. So, Johnny went to the Station for his shifts and rushed to his apartment to grab a shower and change of clothes, before going back to the Stoker house to stay with Julianna.

After two weeks of being on the den sofa bed, Julianna felt well enough to climb the stairs to her bedroom. Johnny helped her as much as Julianna would allow and they talked about his calls and what they wanted for the future.

She returned to work two months later and realized how much she missed working at the hospital.

She had just finished a cardiac case when the base station sounded.

"_**Rampart, this is Squad 99."**_

"This is Rampart, go ahead 99," she said.  
_**"Rampart we have a 65 year old female, suffering from burns to the arms and chest area. Vitals are 120/80, pulse 78, respiration 18. Burn packet has been applied"**_

"10-4, 99. Establish IV, if you can find a spot and give patient 5 milligrams morphine IV. If you need to administer the pain meds, you can give it IM. Put patient on oxygen and continue monitoring and transport as soon as possible," Julianna said.

"_**10-4, Rampart."**_

Dixie, who'd been writing the vitals, looked at Julianna. "Burn unit," she asked.

"Probably. I guess we should just send the patient upstairs and let them manage her," Julianna said.  
"I'll call them," Dixie said, picking up the phone.

Julianna went back to charting on her patient and Dixie went to meet the ambulance and direct them to the burn unit.

Julianna was heading to her office when she heard her name. "Juli."

She turned and saw her friend, Bob, walking toward her.

"Hey, Bob. I haven't seen you in a while. Thought you were ignoring me," Julianna said, giving her friend a hug.

"Well, I came by after the accident and talked to Johnny and I saw you for about ten minutes, but you were unconscious. Just wanted to make sure you were OK. Then I covered for Johnny some when he asked to take off to help you. How are you," he asked.  
"I'm feeling better. I'm back to work and Mike and Johnny have stopped hovering, so I'm thinking things are back to normal. You know, you could have come by when I was recovering, you and Beth," she said.  
"Yeah, well, I wanted to, but didn't want to interfere with your recovery and Beth's been working a lot. Roy mentioned the cook out at his place Saturday, since A and B shift are off. We'll be there," he said.

"That's great. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone. It will be good to see everyone outside of the hospital setting," Julianna said.  
"Yeah. Well, I've got to meet my partner. I'll see you Saturday," he said.  
"Bye, Bob," Julianna said.

She opened her office door and set her paperwork on the desk. She was finished for the day and was ready to go home. Johnny was supposed to pick her up and take her to look at a house he was thinking of buying. Roy had seen the place and hadn't seem interested, so Johnny was convinced it was the house for them.

Julianna left the hospital and headed for her house.

She entered the house and found her mother in the kitchen, baking.  
"What are you doing," Julianna asked her mom.  
"Just baking. Your father decided to help Michael with that deck addition, so I figured I'd bake. I understand you and Johnny are going to look at a house this afternoon," Helen said.  
"Yeah. I'm heading up to change. He'll be here in a few minutes," Julianna said.  
"Well, have fun. You're father and I are going to look at apartments in the area tomorrow. We're thinking it's about time to move back and be closer to our children. With Michael and Barb getting so serious and you and Johnny, it just makes more sense," Helen said.  
"Mom, that would be wonderful if you and dad were here," Julianna said.  
"Well, we thought so. Mike wants us to stay here until we find a place. We've got a realtor in Florida already looking at selling the house," Helen said.

"That's terrific, mom. It'll be nice to have you and dad around," Julianna said, heading up to her room.

Right on time, Johnny opened the door and called inside. "Anyone home," he called.

Helen Stoker came out of the kitchen and hugged Johnny.

"Johnny, it's good to see you again. Juli's upstairs changing and Mike and Ben are outside measuring for the deck extension Mike wants to add," she said.  
"Well, I'll go out and wait with Mike and Ben. Tell Juli I'm outside," he asked.  
"Of course, dear," Helen said.  
Johnny went out the back door and found Mike and Ben talking.

"Hi Mike, Mr. Stoker," Johnny said, shaking hands with Ben.

"Hey, Johnny," Mike said.  
"Nice to see you, Johnny," Ben said.

"You and Juli looking at the ranch you tried to talk Roy into buying," Mike asked.  
"Yeah. Roy seemed a little iffy on it, but I think it's a great place and, if he doesn't want it, then I might want it. If Juli likes it, I might have found us a house," Johnny said.  
"That's great, John. Where is it," Ben asked.  
"Just on the edge of 51's territory. Right before the canyon. It's in a little valley with streams on each side. Should provide good coverage if there's a brush fire in that direction," Johnny said.  
Ben smiled. "Spoken like a true fireman. Don't ever let Juli know you thought of how to defend the ranch in the event of a fire. She got enough of that when she was growing up," Ben said.

"I don't plan on it, sir," Johnny said.

Julianna came downstairs wearing a pair of jeans, flip flops and a white top with a multicolor band around the top half with spaghetti halter straps. She'd pulled her hair into a half pony tail. The sides were up and the back was hanging over her shoulders.

"Hi, daddy, Mikey," Julianna said, hugging her brother and dad.

"Hey, sweetie," she said to Johnny. He put his arms around her waist as she came closer to him and he kissed her cheek. "You ready," he asked.  
"Yeah. I'll see you guys later," Julianna said, waving.

They walked around the house to the driveway, hand-in-hand. Johnny opened the door for Julianna and she got inside. She tugged on his hand and he nearly fell into her lap. He grinned at her. "What," he asked.  
She smiled sweetly before wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him. Johnny's hands went to her back and pushed her closer to him.

When they broke apart she said, "That's what I've been wanting to do all day," she said.  
"So have I," he replied.

He closed her door and went to the driver's side.  
"You want to see this place? I'm meeting Chet's realtor friend there," Johnny said.  
"Let's go," she said.  
Johnny headed toward the edge 51's territory. Julianna always loved the rugged side of her hometown and seeing the scenery, Julianna was loving the location.  
Johnny pulled down a long driveway and were met by a pickup truck.  
"Johnny, good to see you. This must be the girl I've heard so much about from Chet. Pleasure," he said, shaking Julianna's hand.

"Yeah, this is Julianna Stoker. Can I show her around," Johnny asked.  
"Sure. I'll wait right here," he said, giving Johnny the keys to the house.

The house had the feel of a lodge. They entered through a side door that opened into the kitchen. There was a half-wall with a counter that separated it from the formal dining area and living room. The living room had a large window the showed the trees and sloping hillside just at the edge of the lawn.

There was a sunken den that held a massive stone fireplace and plenty of room to accommodate guests for parties and holidays. It took the whole side of the house it was situated. There was an entrance from the front of the house, by the front door and from the living room.

There was a small sitting room just off the front door and a half-bath below the stairs. The laundry area was in the kitchen, tucked into the pantry. The upstairs held six bedrooms. Two master suites with full baths and then another two full baths that were shared by the other four guest rooms. There was a basement that was unfinished and an attic.

Julianna took in the house and fell in love with it. She could imagine herself cooking in the kitchen, preparing Thanksgiving dinner and serving it at her table. Decorating a Christmas tree and watching the wildlife from the windows.

Johnny didn't even have to ask Julianna to know how she felt about the house.  
"I can see you cooking dinner for everyone here. I can see you and I relaxing in the den or out on the deck and patio area after work or on our days off. There's even space for you to have a home office, if you need to do that sort of thing," he said.  
Julianna turned around and kissed him. "I love it. It's perfect," she said.  
"Do you want to see the rest of the place," he asked.  
"I know it's perfect. Just seems like a lot of bedrooms," she said, turning to the big picture window.  
"Well, we can have parties and have places for everyone to stay. Do you want to live here, with me," he asked her.

Julianna, who had been looking at the view from the window, turned back to Johnny and saw him on his knee. He held out a box and asked her, "Julianna Grace Stoker, will you make me the happiest man in the universe and be my wife? Will you marry me?"

Julianna was stunned. She knew she wanted to marry Johnny, she just didn't think he was going to propose today.  
"Yes, Johnny, I will marry you," she said, as he placed the ring on her finger and picked her up and spun her around. "I love you, Jules," he said.  
"I love you, too," Julianna said.

"We should go out and sign the paperwork," Johnny said.  
Julianna nodded, distracted by the ring on her finger. As they walked out the door, she stopped him.

"Is this..." she started to say.  
"The ring you said you liked when we went to the street fair? Yeah. It has a matching wedding band with it," Johnny said.

Julianna was amazed. Again, Johnny had done something truly romantic and astonishing to her. The ring she had on her finger was a square diamond surrounded by square turquoise stones. The ring reminded Julianna of Johnny and his Native American heritage and was simple, like the two of them.

"I can't believe you remembered it," she said, as they headed to meet the real estate agent.  
"Well, I went back to the fair a few weeks ago and found the same vendor was still there. He offered to make the whole wedding set. I took him up on the offer and got it," Johnny said.  
"What if I'd said no," Julianna asked, a smile teasing the corners of her mouth.

Johnny didn't comment, he just grinned the crooked grin and greeted the real estate man again.  
"What do you think, Mr. Gage," he asked.  
"We'll take it. How soon can we do this," Johnny asked.  
"Well, you can sign the contract to make the offer and I'll take it from there. They should accept the offer since they need to sell. I'll get the down payment from you after the offer is accepted and the loan paperwork is approved. Will you be on the application as well, Ms. Stoker," he asked.  
Julianna hadn't thought about it. She knew she'd have no problem getting a loan based on her job, but she knew Johnny wanted to do this on his own.  
"After we get married. I want to get it taken care of before we get married. One less thing to worry about," Johnny said.  
"Fine, just sign here," he said.  
Johnny signed the paperwork and looked at Julianna. "Think we could have the reception here," he asked.  
"Yeah. Think we could pull it off," Julianna asked.  
"I think we can," Johnny said.  
"I'll call you in a few days, Mr. Gage. Talk to you soon," the real estate man said before getting in his pick up and heading back toward the city.

Julianna wrapped her arms around Johnny's waist and rested her head on his chest. "This is crazy," she said.  
"No more crazy than our life lately. Come on, we have a wedding to plan," Johnny said.

They headed back to Johnny's apartment. Julianna had wanted to head back to his apartment because she wasn't ready to share him or news of their engagement at that time. She wanted to spend a few hours alone with him, before she had to start planning her wedding.


	7. Chapter 7

DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to Mark VII and NBC Universal. I do own Julianna.

They arrived back at Johnny's and Julianna sat on the sofa while Johnny made her some tea. Johnny got himself a glass of milk and went to the doorway to the living room and watched Julianna kick off her shoes and wrap her legs up underneath her. She picked up the book on his coffee table and flipped through the pages. Johnny went back into the kitchen and poured the hot water into a mug and grabbed one of Julianna's favorite teas. He added a bit of sugar to the beverage and stirred it. He sat the mug on the table in front of her and sat his glass next to it.

He placed his chin in the space between her neck and shoulder and asked, "What are you reading?"

"It's your book. Don't you know what it is," she asked.

"I wasn't expecting a response," Johnny said, frowning.  
Julianna turned to face him. She smiled. "I'm only teasing. Thanks for making me some tea," Julianna said. She picked up the mug and took a sip of the liquid. She put the cup down and leaned into Johnny. He sat back on the couch and wrapped his arms around her.

Julianna closed her eyes. "What's on your mind, Jules," he asked.  
Julianna smiled. "You know me too well. You realize when we get married it's going to be a huge production between the hospital and fire department," she said.  
"I'd thought about that. We could always elope," Johnny said.  
Julianna raised up and looked at him. "You can't do that to me," she said.  
Johnny looked at her. "Do what," he asked.  
"Elope. I'm a woman. Granted the last thing I want is this huge production, but I want my dream wedding. I want my dad to give me away. I want you and my brother wearing your dress blues. I want the white dress and the flowers. I want my mother to get her chance to cry at the wedding," Julianna said.  
"Well, if you want it, then you shall have it," Johnny said.  
"Who's going to be your best man," Julianna asked.  
"Roy. He is my best friend. Think Mike will be expecting to be the best man," Johnny asked.  
"Nope. I think asking him to stand with you is enough excitement for him. You going to get Chet, Cap and Marco to stand with you," Julianna asked.  
"That's what I was thinking. I was also going to ask Bob, with him being your friend and all. What about you," Johnny asked.  
"I'll get Joanne to stand with me. I'll probably throw Barb, Beth and Dixie for good measure. Maybe ask Estella, I don't know," Julianna said.

"There's a lot to think about, isn't there," he said.  
"Yeah and I'm not ready to think about all that until tomorrow," Julianna said, turning over and rising to meet Johnny's lips.  
"Why, doctor, do you want to change the subject," Johnny asked, kissing her back.  
"Possibly," Julianna said.  
Johnny wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. He kissed her before pulling back and asking, "Are you sure?"

It had been nearly three months since she had been in her accident and lost the baby. Despite sharing a few chaste kisses with him and cuddling, they hadn't been together since before the accident. Johnny hadn't let it bother him because he knew Julianna was probably scared and, if he admitted it to himself, he was afraid also.

Julianna didn't voice her answer, she just nodded her head, kissed him and started unbuttoning his shirt. Not wanting to be uncomfortable on the couch. Johnny sat up and Julianna wrapped her legs around him. They went to the bedroom and got reacquainted with each other again.

Julianna curled up next to Johnny in bed, her head resting on his chest. She was sleeping peacefully and Johnny was smiling. Not because of what they had just done, but because, for the first time since all these things had happened to them, he felt they were going to make it. They were going to be OK. The petite woman currently occupying his bed and his heart was going to be his wife. She was going to be with him for the rest of their lives and, unlike the other times marriage and family had been broached with him, he wasn't changing the subject. He felt like he had in high school. There wasn't a care in the world, as long as Julianna was by his side. He tightened his arm around Julianna and closed his eyes as he gave in to a peaceful and happy sleep.

Julianna awoke the next morning and slipped out of the bed. She went to the fridge and started making breakfast. She put the coffee on to brew and went about making omelets.

Johnny reached for Julianna, but realized she wasn't there. He sat up in the bed and was thinking she'd left, until he smelled cooking. He chuckled to himself at the absurdity of the notion and went into the kitchen.  
"Hey, honey," she said, handing him a cup of coffee.

"Hi yourself. What is this," he asked, taking a sip of the coffee.

"I fixed breakfast," she said.  
"I can see that. What culinary delight are we having this morning," he asked.  
"Just made omelets. Figured you'd like that. Besides, not much in your fridge. You need to do some shopping," Julianna said.

Johnny got out some silverware. "Well, I've been a bit distracted," he said.  
Julianna grinned at him and sat down with him at the table. They made small talk while they finished their breakfast.

They jumped in the shower and Julianna changed into the extra outfit she had at Johnny's. She took her clothes in a duffel. As they were leaving, the phone rang.  
Johnny answered it. "Hello. Yeah...Really! That's great!...Yeah, I can drop a check off to you...Yeah, I can meet you at your office. I'll run by the bank first...They were waiting for the final price before filling in the final draft. ...Yeah, OK. I'll call them right now. ...I'll see you in a few hours. Thanks, bye," Johnny said, hanging up the phone.  
Julianna looked at Johnny. "The seller accepted that offer I made on the ranch. I have to pick up the down payment and sign the final loan papers. I have to call the bank first," Johnny said.

He picked up the pad he kept by the phone and found the number for the bank officer he was working with and called.

"Hello, this is John Gage. I'm calling about those papers I had you make up for me... Well the seller accepted the offer I initially started with, so can you put that amount on the paper so I can come by and sign? ...The seller is giving me the keys when I give the agent the down payment... Yes, I need to get a certified check for the down payment... Great! I'll be there shortly. Thank you, Miss Smith," Johnny said, hanging up the phone.

"Everything all set," Julianna asked.  
"Yeah. You want me to take you home or do you want to go to the bank with me," he asked.  
"Why don't you drop me off and I'll get started my laundry. Want me to do yours, too," she asked.  
Johnny looked at her. "I'll be doing it when we get married anyway. Besides, I already know what your underwear looks like," Julianna said, laughing.

Johnny retrieved his laundry bag and loaded it into his car.

They drove to Julianna's house and he let her off at the curb. "I'll come back when I get done. I love you," he said, leaning over and kissing her.

"I'll be here. Love you, too," she said. She unlocked the front door and Johnny pulled away from the curb.

"Juli! Welcome home," Mike said, as he came out of the kitchen.

"Hey, Mikey," Julianna said, putting the laundry in the laundry room off the kitchen.  
"How was the house hunting," he asked.  
"That house is perfect and the realtor called this morning and said his offer was accepted. He dropped me off on his way to the bank. He'll be by afterward," Julianna said.  
"So, you and Johnny moving in together," he asked.  
"Well..." Julianna started. She held up her hand and showed her brother the ring.  
"You're getting married? This must have happened last night," Mike asked.  
"It did and we went back to his apartment to talk about the wedding," Julianna said, looking at the floor.  
"Julianna Grace, I don't care what you do, as long as you're happy," Mike said.  
"We haven't narrowed a date down, but we'll probably talk to mom and dad about it," Julianna said.

She hugged her brother and headed up to her room and sat on the bed. She looked at the ring Johnny had given her and couldn't believe it had happened. She couldn't believe she was getting married.

Julianna went to her closet and pulled down a box. The box was a small chest. She unlocked the chest and revealed a pile of pictures from magazines of dresses, flowers and other things for a wedding.

This was why she couldn't elope with Johnny. She'd been saving the things in this box for the last ten years and, in the last few months, had been adding more things to the pile and wanted to have the wedding she had always dreamed of, but thought she couldn't have. She spread the items out on her bed and immediately felt like she was a teenager again.

She was making a list of things she needed to do, when there was a knock on her bedroom door. "Juli, dear. May I come in," her mother asked.  
"Sure, mom," Julianna said.  
Her mother entered the room and sat down on the bed with Julianna.

"Well, Mike tells me you have some news and, judging by the stuff on the bed, I think it's happy news," Helen said.  
Julianna showed her mother the engagement ring Johnny gave her and her mother wrapped her into a hug. "Congratulations, Juli. I know you and Johnny will be very happy together. I also can't wait to plan a wedding. Now, do you have a date," she asked.  
"We're still narrowing it down," Julianna said.  
"Well, I'll make my own list and compare it with yours and you can start assigning things for me to do. I don't want you to have to worry about a thing. I'm going to make sure you have the wedding of your dreams, since you're marrying the man of your dreams," Helen said.  
Julianna hugged her mother and they started discussing menus and flowers.

Julianna heard the front door close and Mike greet Johnny. "I'll leave you alone," Helen said, heading out of the room.  
Helen headed down the stairs and met Johnny on the landing. "Congratulations. Ben and I are very happy you're marrying our daughter," she said.  
"Thank you, ma'am. He said the same thing the other day when I asked for Juli's hand. It's nice to be liked," Johnny said.  
"How come I didn't know about this," Mike asked.  
"Because you would have told Juli. You two are close and you can't keep a secret from her," Johnny said.  
"I kept the ball thing a secret," Mike said.  
"That's because Barb didn't tell you until that morning and you didn't see Julianna that whole day," Johnny said.

He headed upstairs to Julianna's room and peered into her bedroom. He smiled because the scene reminded him so much of high school when he'd come by on the weekends and find her upstairs, studying.

She was stretched across the bed, her knees bent, feet crossed and in the air. She was writing on a notepad.  
Johnny knocked lightly and pushed the door open. "Whatcha doin'," he asked.  
"Nothing," Julianna said, as Johnny looked at the stack of stuff on the bed.  
"I see. This is why you didn't want to elope," he said, smiling at her.  
"Well, can you blame me for dreaming about it," she asked.  
Johnny knelt by the bed and kissed her. "Not at all. How long have you had this stuff," he asked.  
"Some of it's from high school and some of it I just added in the last few months," she said.  
"I knew it. I knew it. You were thinking about marriage in high school," he said.

"Well, what woman with a serious boyfriend doesn't think about marriage. Will you leave me alone about it? I'm having the wedding I want because I'm only doing this once," she said.  
"Well, I should hope so," Johnny said.  
"Unless," she started.  
"Unless what," he asked, pulling away from her.  
"We decide to renew our vows on certain anniversaries. Then I get to get married again," she said.

Johnny shook his head. "If that's what you want, than I'll do it," he said.


	8. Chapter 8

DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to Mark VII and NBC Universal. I own Julianna.

He pushed the papers away and leaned in for another kiss from his beautiful fiancee.

Julianna eagerly responded before pushing him back and asking, "Did you get the house," she asked.  
Johnny smiled and reached into his pocket. He handed her a ring of keys to the house.  
"Here are the keys. We are the proud owners of a house. I have a sinking suspicion that my furniture isn't going to be enough for that house," he said. A sudden look of horror crossed his face and Julianna became alarmed.  
"Johnny, what's wrong," she asked.  
"I just realized how much stuff we have to buy," he said.  
"Oh, that. I have a feeling we'll do OK," Julianna said, kissing him. Julianna got off the bed and held out her hands. "You want to go downstairs now? We need to talk to mom and dad about the wedding and all that stuff," Julianna said.

They held hands and walked downstairs to the back deck where Mike was grilling hamburgers.

"Hey, Juju, Johnny," Mike said.

Johnny pulled out a chair for Julianna and sat down next to her. "You staying for dinner," Mike asked.  
He looked at Julianna. "Am I," he asked.  
"Of course," she said, leaning into him.

"You talked to mom and dad about the wedding," Mike asked.  
"No. Figured we'd do that over dinner," Julianna said.

"Roy going to be your best man," Mike asked.  
"If he says yes. I haven't talked to anyone about it, though," Johnny said.  
Ben came out of the house with plates for the table. Julianna got up from the table and headed inside to help her mother.

"You and Johnny have a house," Helen asked as Julianna picked up the potato salad and pitcher of lemonade.  
"Yeah. I'm guessing we'll start moving stuff into the house before Johnny's lease is up," Julianna said.  
They exited the house and Mike sat the burgers on the table.

"You realize we're going to be eating burgers tomorrow at Roy's right," Johnny said.  
"Yeah, but we never tire of hamburgers," Mike said.

Everyone fixed their plates and talk flowed easily around the table.

Julianna went inside to do the dishes and Johnny and Mike helped bring the dishes inside. Julianna's mother made coffee and the three Stoker's sat at the table while Johnny helped Julianna with the dishes.  
"Well, when are we going to talk about this wedding," Helen asked.  
"I think this is my cue to leave. Barb needs a ride to work and I'd like to see her before that. I told her I'd pick her up since her car is in the shop," Mike said. He leaned over and kissed his mom on the cheek and kissed the top of Julianna's head. "See ya, dad. Johnny," Mike said, heading out the door.  
Julianna looked at Johnny. "Think he'll ever propose," she asked.  
"He's your brother. What do you think," he asked her.  
Julianna shrugged her shoulders.

"Now, have you two discussed a date for the wedding," Ben asked.  
"I want to get married in the fall. It's such a pretty time of year," Julianna said.  
"October," Johnny asked.  
"Yeah. I know it's in six months, but we can do it," she said. "Can't we, dad," Julianna asked her father.

Helen and Ben smiled. "If you want it, baby girl, then we'll do what we can to make it happen. What do you think, Johnny," Ben asked.  
"Whatever Julianna wants," he said, kissing her on the cheek.

"Well, how do you feel about getting married at the church you grew up in? It's such a lovely place," Helen said.  
"I would love it. If Johnny doesn't mind a church wedding," Julianna said.  
"That works for me," Johnny said.  
"Well, you just have to figure out at day to get married so I can make sure the church is free," Helen said.  
Ben got up and took the calendar off the wall and handed it to Julianna who was wiping her hands on the towel.

Johnny looked over her shoulder. "How about the 15th," he asked.  
"Sounds as good a day as any to me," she said.

"I'll call him tomorrow and reserve the church," Helen said.

"Now, all we have to do is find dresses, flowers, catering and a thousand other little things," Julianna said.  
"We're having the reception at the house. The yard is plenty big enough. Is that still what you want to do," Johnny asked.  
"Yeah. Don't you like that idea, mom. We'll have the reception at the house Johnny just bought," Julianna said.

"Hey, it's OUR house," he emphasized and Julianna smiled. She couldn't believe she was making such grand plans for her life after everything that had happened.  
"That sounds perfectly lovely. Now, we need to figure out the flowers and such," she said.

"Helen, I think we should head off to bed. I'm sure Julianna and Johnny want to talk about those things before you bombard them with questions. Besides, we'll see you in a few days," Ben asked.  
"Are you not going to the DeSoto's for the barbecue," Julianna asked.  
"No, we're going to go to San Diego to see your aunt. We'll spend at least a week," Ben said.  
"Oh! Well, I'm working 11 to 11 Sunday and 11 to 7 Monday, so I guess I'll be here alone while Mike and Johnny are working," Julianna said.  
"Well, good night you two. We'll see you later," Helen said, kissing her daughter and hugging Johnny. Ben hugged his daughter and shook hands with Johnny.  
They headed up the stairs to the guest room.

Julianna and Johnny watched them go upstairs. "Well, your laundry should be done. Do you want to get it out of the dryer and I'll go pack my bag for the next few days," Julianna said.

"Sure," Johnny said, heading into the laundry room.

Julianna went upstairs and packed her bag for Johnny's. She made sure to put her work clothes in the bag. She wanted to be able to leave from Johnny's apartment and head to work.

She took the two bags downstairs and found Johnny folding his clothes and putting them in the laundry bag.

"Ready," he asked, stuffing the last shirt into the bag.  
"Yeah," she said. She wrote a note to Mike and stuck it to the fridge. She headed out of the house and got into her car.

She followed Johnny to his apartment and parked in the visitor's spot in the parking lot. Johnny took Julianna's bags from her car and carried them up to his apartment.

Johnny unlocked the door and Julianna entered the apartment first. Johnny shut the door behind them and put the bags into his bedroom.  
Julianna went into the kitchen. "Johnny, we need to go shopping. Can you head to that market down the street," she asked.  
"Sure. It's fairly early," Johnny said, coming out of the bedroom.

Julianna scrawled a list on the pad by the phone and handed it to Johnny. "I want to take a shower, so I'll wait for you to come back," Julianna said.

"OK. I'll be right back," Johnny said, kissing Julianna.

She locked the door behind him and went into the bathroom. She turned on the shower and stood under the hot water for a bit before washing her hair.

She stepped out of the shower and had wrapped herself in Johnny's robe. She was gathering her pajamas out of her bag when Johnny came back from the market.

"Hey, babe. Wow, that looks better on you than me," Johnny said, coming to her side.  
"Thanks. Did you get everything on the list," she asked.

"I did. Want something to drink," he asked.  
"Yeah. I'll have a pop. I'll be there in a minute," she said.  
Johnny kissed her and headed out to the kitchen.

Julianna changed into her pajamas and came out of the bedroom, pulling her hair into a ponytail.

She joined Johnny on the couch and they watched a little television before Julianna fell asleep in Johnny's arms.

She awoke several hours later and found Johnny was snoozing on the couch with her. "Johnny," she whispered.

He opened his eyes and looked at Julianna. "You OK, Jules," he asked.  
"I was going to head to bed. You coming," she asked.  
Wordlessly, Johnny got off the sofa and headed toward the bedroom. They both crawled under the covers and

were fast asleep.

Julianna awoke the next morning, Johnny snoring softly beside her. She slipped out of the bed and quickly changed into her jogging clothes. She had been dying to get back to running and, luckily, Johnny's apartment complex was big enough for her to do several laps around the place. She thought she'd grab coffee and doughnuts on her way back upstairs.  
She jogged down the stairs, made a few laps before heading to the little bakery at the top of the block. She purchased two coffees and several donuts and headed back to Johnny's apartment.

She unlocked the door and slipped quietly into the apartment. She put the coffee and bag on the table and went back to the bedroom.

She slipped into the bathroom and turned on the shower. She had just slipped under the warm spray when she felt the shower door open and Johnny joining her into the shower.  
"Good morning," he said, kissing her neck.  
Julianna turned around, kissing him. "Morning. Went for a jog this morning and brought back breakfast," she said.  
"I have something else in mind for this morning," he said, his eyes twinkling.

"You are full of mischief this morning, Johnny," Julianna said, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Yes, I am," he said, silencing her with a kiss.

They shared a steamy shower before stepping out and getting ready for their day.

They sat down at the table and had their coffee and donuts. Johnny read the paper while Julianna went back into the bathroom to fix her hair.

She changed into a pair of jeans and a plaid tunic top. She pulled her hair into a french braid. She put on some lip gloss, but didn't put on any additional makeup. She sat on the bed and tied her espadrille sandals before heading out into the living room. Johnny had changed into his jeans and button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up while Julianna had been fixing her hair. He was pulling on his boots when she came out of the bedroom.

"Wow, Jules! You look great," he said, standing up and giving her a kiss.

"It's just a casual barbecue outfit, Johnny, but thanks," she said, grabbing her purse from the coffee table.  
"I know, but you do look great," he said.  
"So do you. Have I ever told you how much I love seeing you in jeans," she said, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Maybe," he said, kissing her again before turning around to grab his wallet.  
Julianna smacked him on the butt and Johnny turned around. "What was that for," he asked.  
"That's why I love seeing you in jeans. Probably for the same reason you like seeing me in jeans and low cut tops," she said.

"You're going to pay for that one, doctor," he said.  
"Yeah, yeah. We should go," she said, dodging Johnny's arms as he reached out to grab her. Julianna knew what he wanted to do, tickle her in retaliation.  
Julianna ran out the door, laughing at Johnny's antics.


	9. Chapter 9

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing. The character of Julianna belongs to me. Everything else belongs to Mark VII and NBC Universal.

Roy and Joanne rented a little three bedroom house about five miles from Johnny. Roy's quest for a new house had led Johnny to find the house he'd purchased for himself and Julianna.

Johnny pulled into what had become his usual spot in the driveway behind Roy's truck. He came around and helped Julianna out of the car. He put his arm around her shoulders as they walked up the sidewalk and rang the door bell.  
Chris answered the door. "Uncle Johnny! Aunt Juli! We couldn't wait for you to get here," he said, in his usual eight-year-old excitement.

"Hey, there little man. How are you today," Johnny asked.  
"Good. We're outside helping daddy with the barbecue. You coming to help," he asked, taking Johnny's hand and pulling him toward the door.  
Julianna smiled. "I'll see what I can help Jo with and come out when I'm done," she said, waving as Johnny was pulled out the door. She caught a glimpse of him as a strawberry blond bundle of energy came rushing at him and Johnny immediately picked her up and kissed her cheek. Julianna smiled at the scene and took a deep breath. Her heart broke when she saw how much Roy's children loved Johnny.

"You'll have children, Juli," Joanne said from the hallway.  
"What," Julianna said, heading into the kitchen with her friend.  
"I know. It's a beautiful sight to see how the kids take to Johnny. They love him. You'll have children with him. I guarantee it. Just be patient," Joanne said.  
"I'm scared, Jo," Julianna said, voicing her fear for the first time since the accident.

"That's normal. After our miscarriage, I didn't want Roy to touch me because I was afraid I'd get pregnant. I was paranoid. I went on the pill and I'd always swore I'd never be one of those women, but I was so scared of getting pregnant that I went on it. Roy understood and was patient. The pain's still there, but it's not as raw and aching as it was in the first few months," Joanne said.  
"You miscarried? Johnny never told me," Julianna said.  
"He only found out a few months ago. Roy told him because Roy thought it might help the two of you," Joanne said.  
"I went on the pill, too, but I haven't told Johnny. It's my decision right now. When we get married, we'll talk about it," Julianna said.  
Joanne nodded at her friend. She understood her friend's logic and, while she thought Johnny should know, since they hadn't gotten married, Julianna was allowed some privacy in her choices. If she didn't want to get pregnant again for a while, Joanne could understand her decision.

"Can I help with something," Julianna asked.  
"I thought we'd take something out for the guys to drink. The rest of the crew will be here soon," Joanne said.

Julianna grabbed a beer for Johnny and followed Joanne outside with a glass of tea.

Johnny and Roy were talking about home improvement when the woman came up to them.

"Sweetie, Roy just said the owner's of this house are going to sell out to them and sell the lot next door as well. Roy was telling me about what he wants to do to expand the house," Johnny said, taking the drink from Julianna.

"That's great! What will you do," Julianna asked.  
"Add an addition to the side here. Joanne wants a separate family room so the kids have a play room and a another bathroom and bedroom. We'll extend the side porch off the kitchen door and use that as a deck and patio area, since this will have to be torn up. But the kids will have a larger yard to play in and we'll have more room," Roy said.  
"You mean when Johnny has to stay over, you won't have to kick Jenn out of her room," Julianna said.

"Hey, I shouldn't have to stay over anywhere. We have our own house and you'll be my built in babysitter," he said.  
"Babysitter is about right, Junior," Roy said, causing the women to laugh and Johnny to glare at his friend.

"Johnny, did you ask Roy," Julianna said, changing the subject.

"Ask me what," Roy asked, starting the grill.  
"Julianna and I are getting married October 15th and I wanted to know if you'd be my best man," Johnny asked.  
Roy's face lit up. He was proud of his partner for his decision to marry Julianna. "Of course I will," Roy said, clapping Johnny on the back.  
Julianna turned to Joanne. "Will you be my matron of honor," she asked.  
Joanne shrieked. "You bet I will! This is so exciting," she said, hugging both Julianna and Johnny.  
"Oh and I want Jenn to be a flower girl and Chris to be the ring bearer, if it's alright with you two," Julianna said.  
"Well, Jenny will love dressing in a frilly dress. Chris might balk at the tux thing, but if Uncle Johnny tells him, he'll do it," Joanne said.  
They were talking wedding stuff when the rest of the station and hospital began arriving.

Johnny moved to stand next to Julianna and took her hand and sat down on a chair, pulling her onto his lap.  
"Aren't you two sick of each other yet," Chet asked as he came to stand next to them.

"Not a chance, Chet. Julianna's agreed to stay with me for life. We're getting married in October," Johnny said.  
"WHAT," Chet said, loudly. "Hey everyone! Our confirmed bachelor here is getting married!"

"What is this, Johnny," Cap asked.  
Julianna got off Johnny's lap. Johnny stood next to her, his arm around her waist. "Julianna and I are getting married October 15th," Johnny said.  
The women in the group broke from their husbands and boyfriends and pulled Julianna away from Johnny while the guys gathered around him.  
"Let's see," Dixie asked.

Julianna held out her hand to reveal her engagement ring.  
"That's so pretty," Joanne said.  
"I'll bet that's a nod to Johnny's Native American background," Dixie said.  
"It is. We went to the street fair in Marina del Ray when we were in high school and this vendor was selling Native American jewelry. Johnny went back there and the same guy was still there. He had him make the ring that I had liked from back in high school. Apparently, there's a whole wedding set he's hiding. He was prepared," Julianna said.  
"That's so sweet," Estella said.  
"It is. Now if I can get that brother of yours to ask me to marry him, we'll be all set," Barb said, laughing.  
Julianna laughed. The women all talked about wedding plans.

About an hour later, Johnny came to join Julianna. "I missed you," he said, kissing her.

"I missed you, too," she said, taking his hand. Roy starting putting the burgers on plates and Johnny went to get them some food. Julianna sat down in a chair and waited for Johnny.  
She was surprised when Beth sat down next to her. "Hey," she said.  
"Bethy! How are you? I was hoping you and Bob got to make it here. I need to ask you something," Julianna said.  
"What," Beth asked.  
"Will you be a bridesmaid," she asked.  
"Juli, I'd love to, but..." Beth said, trailing off. Beth had to tell Julianna something and it wasn't an easy thing to tell her friend.  
"But what? You worried I'll pick some hideous color? Joanne is in charge of that. I have final say, but I don't think Joanne will let me get too crazy," Julianna said.  
"No, I know you'll have a wonderful wedding, it's just that, something's come up and I don't know how to tell you," Beth said.  
"What? Did you and Bob break up? Did you elope? What," Julianna asked, smiling at her friend.  
"We're getting married at the courthouse Tuesday. It's the first day off that we both have beside today," Beth said.  
"That's great! You're getting married Tuesday! Why, Tuesday? Why so soon," Julianna said.  
"Well, we wanted to tell everyone today so anyone that's off could come to the courthouse. Bob and I want you to be a witness at the ceremony," Beth said.  
"Sure I'll be there. I don't work that day and Johnny's off at 8 that morning," Julianna said.  
"Great! We're getting married Tuesday because I found out some news and we wanted to get married before it happened," Beth said.  
Julianna realized her friend was rambling. It was a trait Julianna noticed when Beth was in a difficult situation.  
"What, Beth," Julianna said.  
"I'm pregnant," Beth said.  
Julianna struggled to keep the smile on her face. She was truly surprised at Beth's revelation and knew it wasn't common knowledge. She also understood why Beth had been scared to tell Julianna that she was pregnant.


	10. Chapter 10

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but Julianna. All characters belong to Mark VII and NBC Universal.

Julianna hugged her friend, desperate to covering the shock that was coursing through her body and said, "That's wonderful! You two are going to be such great parents."

"So you and Johnny will be there Tuesday? I know Bob wants you to be there and, if we weren't doing this so quickly, you'd be a bridesmaid in my wedding. Bob and I will have a reception in a few weeks, after we've settled," Beth said.  
"Why don't you let me throw you guys a party? Johnny and I just got a house and we can see how it will handle having a big party. We're planning to hold the reception there. And, when it comes time, I'll even host your baby shower at our place," Julianna said, smiling.  
"You don't have to do that, Juli," Beth said.  
"Nonsense. Johnny and I will be happy to host a party in honor of your wedding. You just tell me when and I'll get working on the planning. After all, Bob's pretty special to me," Julianna said.  
Beth hugged Julianna and got up to talk to Bob. Bob came over to Julianna and pulled her up and hugged her. "You're a wonderful friend, Juli-bird. Thanks for doing this for us," Bob said.  
"Hey, you helped me when I needed it and I'm really happy for you and Beth. Johnny and I will be there Tuesday and we'll keep in a secret until the party," Julianna said.  
Bob kissed Julianna on the cheek and went back to Beth. Johnny looked over and caught the kiss between Bob and Julianna. He knew they were friends, but was curious about the conversation she had with her friend and he went over to her. When Bob headed back toward Beth, Julianna took off inside the house. She fled to the kitchen and urged herself to get her breathing under control.  
Johnny rushed inside the house to see what was going on with Julianna.  
"Jules," he said, when he found her leaning against the counter in the kitchen. "Are you OK?"

Julianna was trying to get her breathing under control and stop the tears that had erupted the minute she entered the house. She looked up at Johnny and fled to Jenny's room, Johnny on her heels. She sat down on Jenny's bed and buried her face in her hands.

Johnny, sensing this was something huge, locked the door to Jenny's room to keep someone from barging in, as was always the possibility with the group gathered in Roy's backyard.

"Jules, what's wrong? Are you OK? Did Bob say something to you about the engagement," Johnny asked, rubbing Julianna's back.  
Julianna looked at him, her eyes red, her face puffy. "He and Beth are getting married and they want us to be witnesses for them," she said.  
"They're getting married? Well, that's great. He hasn't said anything to anyone," Johnny said.  
"They're getting married Tuesday at the courthouse," Julianna said.  
Johnny's eyes widened in shock. "Tuesday? As in four days from now," Johnny asked.  
Julianna nodded her head. "Yeah. I told them I'd throw them a little party at our new house when they were ready for a reception," she said.  
"Are you upset because you didn't think I'd think that was a good idea? That's great, Jules. I know how much Bob means to you," he said.  
"That's not it, Johnny. It's the reason they're getting married so quickly," Julianna said, hoping she wouldn't have to tell Johnny. She was hoping he'd get the idea.

Johnny stared at Julianna and she could see the wheels turning in his head. "She's pregnant, isn't she," Johnny said, knowing how that information might upset Julianna.

She nodded. "And before you ask, I don't think I'm upset because she's pregnant, I think it's because they were both scared to tell me she was pregnant. Is that how everyone treats me? Will I stop hearing happy news about baby's just because of what happened? Will they start telling me if we have children? Has their perception of me changed because everyone knows what happened," Julianna asked.  
"No, Juli. You're right, they were probably trying to guard your feelings. It was probably because it's only been a few months since the miscarriage and they wanted to make sure you weren't going to start crying. That's all. No one's keeping things from you or thinks you're going to break. Let's be happy for them and we'll host a reception for them at the house, just like you said. OK," Johnny asked.  
Julianna nodded and moved into Johnny's arms. He let out the breath he hadn't known he was holding. He knew someday someone would tell Julianna they were pregnant, he just didn't think it would be her good friend, Bob and his soon-to-be wife, Beth. He decided to let Julianna have a good cry and he'd go out and explain she'd gotten a headache and would come out when she felt better.  
"Jules, you want to lay down for a while? I'll tell everyone you have a headache," Johnny said.  
"Yeah, give me twenty minutes and I should be back out there. Thanks," she said.  
"Anything for you," he said, kissing her. He covered her up with the quilt Jenny had on her bed and unlocked the door. He shut it behind him and went back outside.

"Where's Juli? Don't tell me you guys can't be without each other for a few minutes? You're practically living together," Roy said.  
"Funny. She mentioned a little while ago that she was getting a headache. I finally convinced her to take some aspirin and rest on Jenny's bed. Didn't think you'd mind too much," Johnny said.  
"She OK," Roy asked, concern immediately showing on his face.  
"Yeah. She's fine. Getting all this attention over the wedding is a bit much for her. I'll check on her in a few minutes. She should be fine by then," Johnny said.  
He resumed his conversation with the rest of the guys. Bob came over and pulled him out of the group.  
"Is Juli OK," he asked.  
"Yeah. She just got a headache. The excitement over the wedding is getting to her and we didn't get much sleep last night," Johnny said, color rising in his cheeks.  
"I'm guessing she told you," Bob said.  
"Yeah and we'll be there and we won't tell anyone. When you and Beth are ready, you can have a small reception at our house. We're having our wedding reception at the house after our wedding," Johnny said.  
"Great. Beth's not feeling that great, so I'm going to take her home. Not only is she having morning sickness, but she's also stressed because neither of us have a big enough apartment for a baby. We're looking at apartments in our spare time, which isn't much. Her lease is up in two months and mine is up this month. We have to find something soon," Bob said.

"My apartment isn't any bigger than yours, I'm sure, but my lease is up in three months and, since Juli and I just bought a house, you can hang out there until you find something. That gives you at least two months to find something," Johnny said.  
"You'd let me sublet your place until the lease is up? That's a nice offer, Johnny. Aren't you worried I'll trash the place," he said.  
"You may be the 'Animal' when you're on duty, but I know Julianna wouldn't stand for you to be messy while you're with her. I bet Beth is the same way. We're moving out in a few weeks. You can pick up the keys after we're out," Johnny said.  
"Thanks, man. I'll let Beth know. See you guys Tuesday," Bob said.  
"You got it," Johnny said.  
Bob gave his regrets about leaving to Roy. He said Beth and he had plans to meet her parents that afternoon and he didn't want to be late.  
Everyone waved at Bob and Beth as they left the backyard.

Johnny stood next to Chet and Mike and made conversation. He checked his watch and went back into the house to check on Julianna.  
He found her sitting on the side of the bed, folding the quilt.  
"You feeling better," he asked.  
She nodded. "Yes, thank you," she said. He grasped her hand and they headed back out to join the group.


	11. Chapter 11

DISCLAIMER: Everything belongs to Mark VII and NBC Universal. I own Julianna.

They spent the rest of the day playing horseshoes and a spirited game of croquet.

When the sun began to set, the party thinned out, leaving Mike, Barb, Roy, Joanne, Julianna and Johnny sitting outside, enjoying the breeze.

"So, have you made any other decisions about the wedding besides the date," Joanne asked.  
"We're having the reception at the house," Julianna said.  
"Other than that and picking who is in the wedding party, we've got all the other details to figure out," Johnny said.

"Well, we'll help you as much as you'll let us," Roy said.  
"That's great. I think we'll need all the help we can get," Johnny said.

"Well, how about we get together on the next day you two girls have off. What do you think, Barb," Joanne asked.  
"Works for me. You want to us to help you, Juli," Barb asked.  
"Sure. I'm off Tuesday, but I have plans that day, but I'm off Friday. Want to meet Friday," Julianna asked.

"That sounds good to me. Roy's working Friday and the kids are heading to my sister's for a sleepover that night. It will be perfect. Oh, we could have girls night in! We can plan the wedding and just do girl things. I haven't done that since before I got married. What do you think," Joanne asked.

Julianna looked at Barb. The idea sounded great. It had been a while since she'd had a night with just girls. She was usually with Johnny or hanging out with her brother. She wondered if she asked Dixie, if she would come and have a girls night with them.  
"That sounds great to me. I can't remember the last time I had a sleep over," Julianna said.  
"You mean with just girls," Barb said, causing Julianna to blush.

"Then it's settled. Come over around 6 that evening and we'll have ourselves a little party," Joanne said.

Julianna smiled at her friends. Then she stifled a yawn and realized she and Johnny both had work in the morning and they should probably head back to his apartment.

She caught Johnny's eye and he nodded. "We do have a shift in the morning, so we're going to head off. I'll see you both at the Station," Johnny said.  
Julianna hugged Roy and Mike. "I'll see you later, Mikey," she said.  
"Be careful, sis," he said, hugging her.

Julianna smiled at him and hugged Barb and Joanne. She and Johnny said their goodbyes and headed back to his apartment.  
On the way back, Julianna looked at Johnny. "I thought I'd pack up some of your stuff while you're working. I'm working 12 tomorrow, but I thought I'd start in the morning," Julianna said.

"That's fine. We can move things into the house as soon as the utilities and stuff are turned on. I guess I'll have to do that sometime Monday after my shift," he said.

"I can do that in the morning. I don't have to be in until 11 and I do have my office where I can do the calls in private," she said.  
"Sounds good to me," Johnny said, as he parked in his parking space.

He came around and opened Julianna's door, once again amazing her at his chivalrous nature. She took his hand and they walked up to his apartment.

Julianna headed toward the bedroom to change. She was tired from all the excitement of the day and Bob and Beth's revelation. Despite what Johnny had told her, she had a suspicion that everyone thought she'd crack if she found out her friends were having children and she wasn't. Julianna was determined to put on a happy face when she dealt with those revelations and not let anyone, including Johnny know how much it upset her.

She pulled on one of Johnny's t-shirts and headed back out to the living room. One of the advantages to having a boyfriend that was much taller, was that she could wear his t-shirts and they fit like a dress. And while she chose to wear them for comfort, she was certain Johnny found it alluring.  
Johnny was sitting on the couch, drinking a glass of milk and reading the paper when Julianna walked passed him into the kitchen.  
She got herself a glass of water and stood in the doorway between the kitchen and living room.  
"Well, did the Dodgers win or not," she asked.  
"They did. You ready..." he started to say as he looked up. He stopped speaking when he caught sight of Julianna. She finished her water and placed the glass on the counter.

"Good. Mike will be happy. Night," she said, heading to the bedroom.  
Johnny nearly leaped of the couch and headed into the bedroom after her. Julianna crawled under the covers and Johnny quickly stripped off his clothes and crawled into bed with her.

"I have a love/hate relationship with those outfits, Jules," he said, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close.  
"I know," she said, smiling at him. She rolled over and kissed him, before turning back around and closing her eyes.

Johnny loved the way she looked in it and hated it at the same time. Julianna drove him crazy without doing anything to him and he knew he was a goner.

"Did you set the alarm," he asked.  
"Yes. Both of them," she said.  
Johnny kissed her neck and closed his eyes. Johnny was notorious for sleeping through his alarm, so he had two of them. When Julianna stayed over the nights before his shifts, she was the one that woke him up and it wasn't exactly the easiest thing in the world for her to do. Johnny didn't like to be woken up by anyone or anything, despite how much he claimed to like waking up to Julianna in the morning.

Julianna awoke when the first alarm sounded. She got out of bed and went to the kitchen to make coffee for Johnny. He couldn't function without coffee, especially on days he was working.

She fixed the coffee and prepared some eggs and bacon for him. When the second alarm sounded, Julianna went into the bedroom and got back in on her side of the bed. She kissed Johnny on the cheek and whispered in his ear. "Johnny, it's time to get up now. Breakfast is on the table," she said.  
Johnny flinched slightly, but didn't open his eyes.  
"Johnny, you get up this instant or you'll miss me and the shower I'm about to take," she said, trailing her finger down the side of his face.  
Johnny's eyes opened and he smiled at her. "Hey, Jules," he said, rolling over and kissing her.  
"Come on tiger, you have to get up and get ready for your shift," she said, slipping out of his grasp and standing beside the bed.  
"Really," he nearly whined.  
"Yes, now come on and let's take a shower before breakfast gets cold," she said, heading to the bathroom.  
Johnny rolled out of the bed and followed her into the bathroom.

Thirty minutes before Johnny's shift was to start, he kissed Julianna good-bye and headed out the door to work. The bounce in his step was proof that he was going to love having Julianna waiting for him when he got home at night and seeing him off to work. He pulled into the parking lot of the Station fifteen minutes later and joined Roy in the locker room.

"Hey, Johnny. How are you today," Roy asked.

"Never better, Roy, never better," Johnny said, unbuttoning his shirt.

"You make any more decisions about the wedding," Roy asked.  
"Not really. Juli's going to your house Friday, so I'm sure they'll figure something out together," Johnny said.

They headed to the apparatus bay for roll call and were given their assignments for the day. Nearly three hours into their shift the tones sounded for their first call of their shift.

"_**Station 51, Motor vehicle accident. 17388 Northgate Way at the intersection with Oak Street. 1-7-3-8-8 Northgate Way, intersection with Oak Street. Time out 1103."**_

"Station 51, KMG-365."

Roy and Johnny slid into the squad and Roy took the paper from Cap and passed it to Johnny. Johnny adjusted the strap on his helmet and took the paper from Roy. Roy put the squad in gear and led the engine out of the station.

The arrived on the scene and found two cars in a t-bone state.

Roy and Johnny got out of the squad and opened the side compartment holding their equipment.

They each headed to a car and assessed the victims they found. Johnny's car held two victims, Roy's one.

"There's no rush to get to this one. He's dead," Roy said, picking up his stuff and headed to assist his partner.

Johnny was checking on the child in the backseat of the car. She was unconscious and looked like she'd hit her head against the side window of the car. Johnny had crawled into the backseat with the child when Roy came over to help.

The other members of Station 51, sprayed down the area before coming to the car to help their co-workers.

"What do you need, Johnny," Cap called in to him.  
"I need a backboard, sandbags and pressure dressing," Johnny called.  
Marco jogged to the squad and grabbed the backboard and the sandbags. Cap handed Johnny the pressure dressings.

Johnny applied the dressing to the child's head and continued assessing the patient. He felt the child's legs and discovered a fracture of the lower leg.  
With the help of Marco and Chet, Johnny was able to get the child out of the car on the backboard and finishing assessing her outside the vehicle.

Roy's patient was coming around and Roy was talking to her telling her to calm down. She had a fracture of her arm and Cap helped Roy splint the arm and they were able to convince her to let them put her on a backboard as well.

When she was immobilized, Roy began his assessment.

"I'm going to call Rampart," Johnny said.  
Johnny pulled his green pen out of his pocket along with his notebook and wrote down the vitals on the child.

"Rampart, this is Squad 51, how do you read," he asked.

Julianna was passing by the base station and took the call. Sally stood beside her, waiting to write the information.

"_**This is Rampart. We read you 51."**_

"Rampart, we're at the scene of an auto accident with three victims. Victim one is DOA. Victim two is a female, around 6. Victim was in the backseat of the car. It appears the victim hit her head on the side window, she has a large contusion with a laceration over the right temporal area. She is unconscious. Pupils are equal and reactive. Vitals are, pulse 70, respiration 10 and shallow, B/P 100/60," Johnny said.  
_**"10-4, 51. Is patient out of the vehicle?"**_

"Affirmative, Rampart," he replied.

"_**51, start IV, Lactated Ringers and place patient on oxygen, 4 liters per minute. Monitor pulse rate and pupilary response. Notify us of any changes. Do you have information on the third victim?"**_

Johnny passed the Biophone to Roy. "Rampart, third victim is female, approximately 30. Patient has a significant fracture of the arm. Patient was unconscious when we arrived on scene, but patient is now awake, however groggy. Pupils are equal and reactive. Vitals are: Pulse 80, B/P 140/90, respiration 12. Patient is complaining of mild pain in the injured limb and we've applied splint to the arm," Roy said.

"_**10-4, 51. Start IV with Lactated Ringers. Monitor the patients vitals and notify if patient condition changes."**_

"10-4, Rampart. Ambulance is here and we will transport the patients right away."

Roy hung up the Biophone and loaded the equipment in the ambulance. The attendants arrived and helped load the child onto a gurney into the ambulance. They placed the mother on the bench in the ambulance. Johnny climbed in after the patients and Roy climbed into the squad and followed behind.

Johnny continued monitoring the patients and, when they pulled into the hospital parking lot, the patients conditions remained unchanged.

Dixie and Julianna were waiting at the entrance for the patients.

"We'll put them both in 3," Dixie said, leading the way to the room.  
"Has the little girl acted like she wanted to wake up," Julianna asked Johnny.  
"No. Vitals remained the same and pupilary response hasn't changed," Johnny said, as the stretcher was wheeled into the room.

Julianna began her assessment of the patient as Johnny took his equipment from the gurney and stood by the door. No matter how many times he'd seen Julianna treat a patient, he was still in awe of her commanding demeanor. She might be small, but she was force to be reckoned with and she fought for her patients every single day.


	12. Chapter 12

DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to Mark VII and NBC Universal. I own the character of Julianna.

Johnny exited the room to find Roy waiting at the desk, signing out supplies with Sally.  
"Johnny, Roy tells me you and Dr. Stoker got engaged over the weekend. That's wonderful," Sally said.  
"Thanks. We're getting married in October, but I'm sure Juli will tell you all about it," Johnny said, helping count the supplies.

Julianna came out of the room and headed for the phone. She dialed an extension and, despite only hearing one side of the conversation, Johnny and Roy knew they were glad they weren't on the other end of the phone.

"I understand that, sir, but I honestly believe this child has an occlusion to the carotid artery... I understand that, but I do think you need to come down here and examine the child. …I'm nearly finished with my residency, sir, and will be starting on staff here in July. … I don't think that will work... Doctor, if you do not want to examine the patient, just say so. I'll be sure to inform Dr. Early and Dr. Brackett that you're important lunch date was too important to help save the life of a little girl," Julianna said before hanging up the phone.  
She ignored Johnny and Roy and went to find Dr. Early.

She saw Joe coming back from the cafeteria.  
"Joe, I need you in here right away," she said. Sensing her urgency, Joe followed behind Julianna into the room.  
"What's the problem, Juli," he asked.  
"I think this child has an occluded carotid artery, but Dr. Lawthorne won't examine the child because it's not a call for a resident to make and it's not something that happens with children often. She suffered a blow to the side of the head during an accident and I think it's a possibility. Dr. Lawthorne won't help," she said.  
Joe examined the patient and found himself thinking the same thing as Julianna.

He immediately got on the phone and booked an OR. "I'll take her myself. Call Dr. Lawthorne back and tell him the patient is occluded and I'm taking her to the OR. We'll see how he likes that," Joe said, before heading out the door toward the OR.  
Sally rushed into the room and began helping the student nurse prepare the patient for the OR. Julianna exited the room and went to sit at the nurses station.

Johnny and Roy were hanging around the hospital in the hopes of finding out what Julianna was arguing with another doctor about. When she sat down at the desk, Johnny slid his coffee to her and Julianna smiled at him as she took a drink.

"Are you OK, Jules," Johnny asked.  
"Yeah. Just trying to convince that doctor on the phone that there was a patient that needed his immediate attention, but because the patient was a kid and I'm still a resident, I had to be wrong. Thankfully, Joe agreed with my diagnosis and is taking the kid to the OR," Julianna said.

"What's wrong? I caught something about the carotid, but I didn't catch all of it," Johnny asked.  
"Occluded carotid. Trauma from the injury causing swelling against the carotid. The patient will have a stroke if Joe doesn't remove the occlusion at the back of the jaw. And before you say anything, it's not something you would catch in the field because she didn't have the occlusion then. When they prepped her for xray, something triggered the swelling again. This time it was significant and was causing pupilary response to change. I just wanted this kid to have a chance," Julianna said.  
"You fight for the patient. That's what it's all about," Roy said.  
The handie talkie sounded and Roy and Johnny were called to a structure fire. Johnny waved at Julianna as they rushed out the door. Julianna sat at the desk and saw Dr. Brackett walking down the hall with Dr. Lawthorne. 'That didn't take long,' she thought to herself.

"Dr. Stoker, Dr. Lawthorne said you were rather abrasive to him on the phone. Do you wish to comment? He's recommending that you be terminated as a physician because of your 'inability to diagnosis properly," Brackett said.  
"Dr. Lawthorne never looked at the patient so he doesn't know if the diagnosis I gave him was correct or not. Dr. Early certainly agreed with me and is in the OR right now trying to save that child's life. Now, if I am suffering from an inability to diagnose, then Dr. Early doesn't know what he's doing either. Dr. Lawthorne also didn't like the fact that I was a resident and I was telling him what the patient needed. If anyone has a problem here, it's certainly not me," Julianna said. "Now, I'm going to see a patient."

Dr. Brackett tried to suppress the chuckle that was building in him. "Dr. Lawthorne, Dr. Stoker is a competent physician and will be a great asset to our staff," Brackett said.  
"I'm sure you think so, but I don't agree. That woman was rude and totally inappropriate to a senior member of this staff. If it happens again, you're on notice about it Brackett," Lawthorne said before heading back the way he had come.

Dixie came out of an exam room and asked Kel what he was doing.  
"Nothing, just seeing if anyone needed any help," he said.

Julianna came out of the room and handed the chart to Ellen. She walked over to Kel and took a deep breath. "I'm not sorry for the way I acted. Dr. Lawthorne was wrong and Joe agrees with me," she said.  
"I know, Juli. I'll talk to Joe. Lawthorne is not a fan of residents and he's not a fan of female physicians. You don't have anything to worry about, Juli. I stand behind you and your diagnosing skills. You're an excellent physician and you are an asset to our team," Brackett said.

"Thanks, Kel. Listen, I should probably tell you before you hear it from someone else. Johnny and I are getting married. We set a date for October 15th," she said.  
"That's wonderful! I'm so happy for you both. Johnny's a great guy, Juli," Dixie said.  
"That is great news. Joe and I will make sure we're off so we can go to the wedding," Kel said.  
"We're hoping you can make it. And Dix, I want you to be a bridesmaid," Julianna said.  
"I would love it," Dixie said, hugging her friend.  
"Good. We're having a planning session at the DeSoto's Friday night. Roy and Johnny are working which means Mike is too. Barb and I are going to Joanne's to spend the night planning. You're welcome to come," she said.  
"Well, I seem to be free Friday, too, so I'll be there," Dixie said.  
"Great," Julianna said. She headed back to see another patient and saw Joe exiting the elevator.

"How is she," she asked.  
"She's going to be OK. She did have an occlusion, which we removed and repaired. That was a good save, Dr. Stoker," Joe said.  
"Thanks for helping her, Joe. Her mom's with ortho in the OR, too. She asked about her daughter before she went to the OR. I'll make sure she knows when she comes out of surgery," Julianna said.

"I'm going to finish writing up the orders and get the pediatrician in to take a look at her. Great job, Julianna," Joe said, before heading back to the elevator.

Everyone went back to their jobs and Julianna finished her shift.  
She was heading out of the hospital just as Johnny pulled up in the Squad.

"Hey, Jules. You heading home," he asked.

"Yeah. Roy brought in a cardiac case," she asked.

"Yeah. Did you manage to get the utility calls today? If not, that's fine, I'll do them in the morning," he said.

"Well, I did manage to handle them on my lunch break. Apparently, identifying yourself as a doctor gets you through faster. I got the water, gas and electric done. I'll drop off deposits in the morning. As soon as they get them, they'll turn them on. We can probably move in this weekend," Julianna said, her smile a mile wide.  
Johnny wrapped his arms around her waist and spun her around. "You're amazing. You managed to do all that AND save that little girl. I love you," he said.

He kissed her. "You heading home or back to the apartment," he asked.  
"I guess the apartment. Mike's not home and mom and dad aren't and I have packing to do," she said.

"OK. I'll see you in the morning. I'll call you when I get back to the station. Love you," he said.

"Love you, too. See you later," she said. She got into her car and headed back to Johnny's apartment.

She unlocked the door, feeling a little weird that she was there without Johnny. She locked the door behind her and went into the bedroom. She stripped off her clothes and took a quick shower. She stepped out and put on one of Johnny's t-shirts.

She grabbed some meat out of the fridge and made herself a sandwich. She grabbed an apple juice and sat down to watch a movie until she was finished eating. She finished her sandwich and started packing up the stuff in Johnny's living room. She tackled the bookcase first and was nearly finished with it when the phone rang.  
She hopped off the floor and grabbed the phone. "Hello," she said.  
"Hey, babe. How are you," Johnny asked.

"I miss you," she said.  
"I miss you, too. You getting ready for bed," he asked.  
"Yeah. I was packing while waiting for you to call, then going to bed," she said.  
"Well, we'll be turning in pretty soon. So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow," he said.  
"Yeah. I'm working at 11 in the morning," she said.

"This is the 48 for the month, so I guess I'll see you at the hospital tomorrow. Maybe Roy and I can slip by for lunch," he said.  
"That works for me. I could always come by and bring breakfast," Julianna said.  
"I'd love it! I'll see you in the morning. I love you," he said.  
"I love you, too," she said, hanging up the phone.  
She went into the bedroom, set the alarm and pulled the sheets down and crawled into bed.

The next two days found Julianna finishing her shift at the hospital and heading home to prepare for witnessing Bob and Beth's wedding. Julianna had spent a good portion of the last two days that she'd been home packing up Johnny's stuff. She knew she'd have to get more of her things out of the house to move into her new home, but she hadn't had any time. She was hoping since Wednesday was an off day for both Johnny and her, they'd be able to get some of her things moved into the house. She knew Johnny would spend the rest of the day in bed when they came home from the courthouse. When she'd seen him Monday morning for breakfast, he and Roy were already beat. Mike and the rest of the guys had been fortunate to have few calls during the night, unlike the paramedics.

Julianna awoke early Tuesday morning to prepare breakfast and coffee for Johnny. They were supposed to meet Bob and Beth at the courthouse at 10. Julianna knew Johnny would be tired and she hoped they'd get through the ceremony and Bob and Beth wouldn't be upset when she took Johnny home to bed.

She had just put the last piece of french toast on the plate to keep warm when Johnny came home. He looked surprisingly fresh after spending 48 at the Station.

"Morning, babe," Johnny said, kissing her.

He took in the boxes in the living room. "You've been busy," he said.

"Yeah. I fixed breakfast and I've already got your suit out for the wedding," Julianna said.  
"Thanks," he said, sitting down and taking a bite of his food.

Julianna poured him a cup of coffee and sat down with her own breakfast and they ate in silence.  
"That was great, Jules," Johnny said.  
"I'll clean up. You can take a shower and I'll get ready when I'm done with the dishes," she said.  
"OK," Johnny said. He leaned down for another kiss and headed into the bathroom.  
Julianna did the dishes and then went into the bedroom. She took her dress off the hanger and set it out on the bed.

She was wearing a yellow dress that was off the shoulder and came to the knee. She had a pair of heeled sandals she was going to wear. She slipped on the dress and then wrapped her hair into a twist, securing it with a clip.

Johnny came out of the shower, dripping and still wearing a towel.  
He came up behind Julianna and kissed her exposed shoulder. "Johnny! You're going to get me wet," she said.  
She turned around and he caught her for a kiss. He then went to get dressed while Julianna went into the bathroom to put on her makeup. She wasn't one for wearing makeup because and Johnny thought she was beautiful without makeup. She applied a bit of eyeshadow and lipstick and came out of the bathroom to find Johnny having trouble with his tie.  
"Do I really have to wear this," he asked.  
"Yes. You're going to have to wear one when we get married, so think of this as practice," Julianna said. She helped him tie his tie.

"We need to go," Johnny said.

He picked up his brown jacket from the bed and grabbed his watch off the dresser. Julianna picked up her purse from the coffee table and they headed out the door. Julianna decided she'd drive because Johnny was still tired after his 48 hour shift.


	13. Chapter 13

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing but the character of Julianna. All others belong to Mark VII and NBC Universal.

They arrived at the courthouse 5 minutes before they were expected. Julianna found Bob waiting in the lobby.  
"Everything OK," she asked her friend.  
"Yeah. Beth's getting ready. She's a little nervous and a little sick this morning," he said.

Just as Julianna was going to see if she could help her friend, Beth came out of the bathroom.

"You're here! Great, let's go. Hopefully, I won't have to run to the bathroom during the ceremony," Beth said.  
The four walked down the hallway to the marriage office and were escorted to the chambers where the ceremony would be performed.

The judge came out and stood in front of them. "Miss Walters, Mr. Bellingham, are you ready," he asked.  
"We are," Beth answered.  
The judge performed a small ceremony and, in just 10 minutes, Beth and Bob were husband and wife. Johnny brought his camera and took a picture of the couple. The judges clerk took a photo of the four friends.

When they were finished they headed out of the courthouse.  
"I'm going to get Johnny home. We need to finish packing up his apartment. You can move your stuff in any time, Bob. Johnny wants to be out of his place by the end of next week. Let us know when you want the reception. We should be settled in the house in a few weeks," Julianna said.

"Thanks, Juli-bird," Bob said, hugging his friend. Julianna gave Beth and hug and she and Johnny left the courthouse.

The drive back to Johnny's apartment was quiet. Julianna was almost certain Johnny had fallen asleep on the ride home. When she parked in the parking lot, she hated waking him up.  
"Johnny! We're home," she said.

Johnny stirred and unbuckled himself and they headed up the stairs.  
Julianna unlocked the door and Johnny went into the bedroom and stripped down to his boxers. He crawled into bed and Julianna laughed. She swore he was asleep before his head hit the pillow. She changed into a pair of shorts and t shirt and went in to tackle the kitchen. She started taking out the few dishes Johnny had in his cupboard and put them in the box she had on the small table. She had removed the books from the book case last night and had also tackled the closet in the hallway. She took another box and removed everything out of Johnny's kitchen drawers. She went into the bedroom and, leaving the door to the closet open, she sat on the floor and started going through the items that were in there.

Around 3, she had managed to get most of his closet packed away. She had managed to get the clothes out and they were on the couch. Surprisingly, Johnny's small apartment didn't hold a lot of stuff and, because he was rarely home except to eat and sleep, he didn't have a lot of stuff. She was stacking another box on the floor in the living room when Johnny came out into the living room.

"Hey sleepy head. Do you get enough sleep," she asked.  
"Yeah. Did you do all this by yourself," he asked.

"I thought I should get as much done as possible. The only thing left is the bathroom and taking the stuff out of the drawers of your dresser. Are you going to borrow Roy's pickup," she asked.  
"Actually, he's supposed to be coming by any minute to help move this furniture out. Mike's coming by also. I think the rest of the guys might come and help. Thought if we got the stuff out to the house, we'd be able to move in that much sooner," Johnny said.  
"Well, if they're going to get the furniture, I could run home and at least grab my clothes," Julianna said.  
"That sounds like a good idea, Jules," Johnny said, kissing her.  
"Well, I'll do that and I'll stop off and get some pizza for everyone to eat. I'll meet you at the house," she said.  
"See you there," Johnny said, kissing her as she headed out the door.

They spent the rest of the day arranging things in their house. The utilities had been turned on and Julianna stopped by the market on her way to the house. She figured she'd better get used to cooking in the kitchen. She saw the boys hard a work moving the little bit of furniture into the house.

"I was right, Jules. We have to buy a LOT more stuff," Johnny said.

He took the paper bags from her arms and brought them into the kitchen for her.  
"Well, we can go looking for some furniture. There's a dining room set in the basement of Mike's house that mom and dad said was mine. That takes care of the dining room," Julianna said.

"How come you get the formal dining set," Mike asked.  
"Because when that was given to mom by grandma and it always goes to the oldest daughter. That's me. You put it downstairs because you didn't want to have anything happen to it and didn't think you'd ever eat there. You have that smaller table in the dining room that mom and dad got you before they left. I'm also taking my bedroom set with me so we have at least one of the guest rooms furnished," she said.  
Julianna put the groceries away and Johnny was amazed at how little time it had taken to get his stuff moved out of his apartment.

"I guess I really didn't have a lot," Johnny said, looking at the sparsely furnished house.  
"I don't either. We'll get to start together and get stuff we both like," Julianna said.

Mike promised to bring the bedroom set over the next day and Roy would follow with the dining room set.

"I'll go out and look for furniture tomorrow while you guys do the heavy lifting," Julianna said.  
"You're not going to help," Johnny asked.  
"I'd supervise and tell you all where it should go and that might just make my brother unhappy," Julianna said.  
"Got that right, Juju. I'll see you guys tomorrow," Mike said, shaking hands with Johnny and kissing Julianna on the cheek. Roy shook Johnny's hands, hugged Julianna and headed out the door himself.

The next few weeks flew by for Julianna and Johnny. As the Spring led to Summer and then Fall, Julianna found her wedding day quickly approaching and she felt totally unprepared, despite all the planning she and her friends had put into it.

She stood in the bride's room at the church, pacing.

"I still think I'm missing something, Dixie," Julianna said, as Dixie helped adjust her veil.  
"You have it all perfect. You have all us bridesmaids in these lovely blue dresses. Your groom is waiting at the altar, very nervously in fact and your guests are all seated in their pews. You have these beautiful tulip and daisy bouquets for yourself and the bridesmaids. You're not missing a thing, Juli," Dixie said.  
"Yes, I am! Something borrowed, blue, old and new," Julianna said.  
"Calm down. Do you think I would forget something like that," Joanne asked, trying to calm Julianna down.

"Julianna Grace, this was your great-grandmothers. She got it when she got married, passed it to your grandmother and from her to me and now you," Helen said, handing Julianna a pair of diamond stud earrings. Julianna put them in her ears and hugged her mom.  
Joanne took Julianna's wrist and put a small diamond tennis bracelet on it. "Roy gave me this on our first anniversary. I want you to borrow it for your wedding," Joanne said.  
Julianna started crying. She hugged her friend and fingered the bracelet on her wrist.

"Oh, I brought my sapphire necklace to wear," she said. She took her purse and pulled out a simple chain with a sapphire pendant hanging from it. It had been a gift from her parents when she graduated college. Her birthday was in September and they had purchased her birthstone pendant for her.

Dixie handed Julianna a handkerchief. "Here's something new. I bought this just for you for the wedding. You can put it in the bouquet or in your sleeve," Dixie said.  
"Now, I think she's all set," Joanne said.  
There was a knock on the door and Ben Stoker came in to take his daughter down the aisle.  
"You ready, princess," he asked.  
"Yeah. As ready as I can be. Let's go," she said.

The wedding march played and everyone prepared for their entrance into the church.

Julianna had chosen an off white silk organza gown with a silk lining. The appliqued skirt had tulle and was lined with taffeta. The bodice had floral lace and featured a straight neckline that allowed her sapphire pendant to be featured hanging from her neck. The dress also featured an embroidered waist. Julianna had fallen in love with the dress. She was wearing a simple, fingertip veil and simple white pumps. She carried a bouquet of daisies and tulips tied with a blue ribbon.

The bridesmaids dresses were royal blue with short sleeves and square necklines, like Julianna's wedding dress. All the dresses were floor-length. They carried miniature versions of Julianna's bouquet.

Jenny and Chris went down the aisle first. Jenny tossing her rose petals and Chris proudly carrying the ring bearer pillow.

Joanne led the way down the aisle, followed by Barb and Dixie.

Roy smiled at his wife as she walked down the aisle. It reminded him of the happiest day of his life. He would be the first to admit that it wasn't easy, but he knew she made him want to be a better man. Jenny stood in front of Joanne and Chris stood in front of Roy.

When Julianna came down the aisle on her father's arm, Johnny and Mike were amazed.

Never before had he thought Julianna could be more beautiful, but seeing her in the dress ready to become his wife was almost too much for him to take.

"Calm down, Junior. You're going to pass out," Roy whispered to his partner. Johnny looked at Roy and willed himself to calm down.

Ben Stoker offered Julianna's hand to Johnny, kissed his daughter's cheek and went to stand with his wife.

Johnny looked at Julianna and said, softly, "You're beautiful."  
Julianna smiled back. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She'd been worried something would happen and she wouldn't make it to the altar to marry Johnny.

However, here she stood, ready to marry her real life hero. Seeing him in his dress uniform, ready to marry her, made her heart soar. She considered herself the luckiest woman in the world.

The turned to face the minister.

"Dearly beloved..."

_**~~That ends the third installment and it ends on a happy note. Keep looking for the fourth one. I'll post it sometime in the next week.~~Kaiti**_


End file.
